Ikea and Pinterest Love

I feel like Pinterest is such a blessing to our homeschool.  It is so nice to be able to find people to "follow" that you have things in common with.  Even though I need to (and I am working on) organizing my Pinterest boards so that I know where things are a little better. Of course, it's not just helpful for our homeschool!  We have lots of things around the house that were inspired by Pinterest or that I found out about because of Pinterest.  We also have lots of little Ikea things around!  We have been to Ikea three times and have purchased things two times.  We haven't been disappointed and love the price and quality of all of our purchases.

IKEA-We recently bought this step stool.  We haven't painted it yet, but Ellie uses it when helping me in the kitchen and Rainbow likes to use it to see outside.

IKEA-The lantern on the left was purchased on our most recent trip. I have an obsession with lanterns. (You will see!)
Pinterest-The window above the table was in the house that my dad was raised in.  I have had it hanging somewhere for the past 10 or so years.  I saw Looking Glass spray paint on Pinterest and decided to try it out.  It turns glass into a mirrored surface or you can spray it with water/water and vinegar for an antique or mercury glass look.  (The hymn page wreath was made by my aunt and she probably got the idea from Pinterest.)  The "frames" on the table are cheap wooden plaques from Hob Lob and I painted them and then used Modge Podge to affix and seal the pictures on them.

 Pinterest- I got the idea to make silhouettes from Pinterest.  It started out with the Maggie & Ellie (at 9 months old) and I added the one of Big Daddy holding each of their hands from a photo I had taken on one of our beach trips.  Just last week, I added a silhouette of Rainbow!
IKEA- The lantern on the left is from Ikea, but I painted it on the outside and used Looking Glass spray paint to create a mercury glass look.  I have had this one for about a year.

Pinterest- I saw this idea on Pinterest, but changed it up a bit.  Of course, I used Maggie and Ellie's hand and footprints for this.

Pinterest- I started wanting a kitchen island because of Pinterest.  We have plenty of cabinets and plenty of counter space.  We have a small section of cabinet on each side of the stove and sometimes I have helpers or need a little extra room without going across to the longer section of counter.  We looked at lots of options and Big Daddy decided that we needed it to be somewhat portable.  Most of the things that I wanted in an island were not going to work for our space, so I have filed them away in case we design a house someday.
IKEA- I saw some cute island/cart option on Ikea's sight.  Big Daddy couldn't get on board with my idea until I saw the cart that I had picked out painted a very similar color to what our kitchen table already is.  So...I showed Big Daddy the picture and he finally understood what I had in mind. I stained the top and drawers and painted the rest with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint (Duck Egg, dark wax) to match our table and chairs in the breakfast area.  We can also roll this into the dining room if we are having a party to put food or drinks on.

I am also using Pinterest  to help with picking out paint colors, as well.  We have lived here 3.5 years and our walls have taken a beating...thanks to two sweet kids!  We chose a light neutral for the common areas of the house.  It matched one of the rooms in our old house and was a safe option since I picked out paint colors 48 hours after giving birth and while still in the hospital.  We chose Sherwin Williams Stucco.  We like it, but I want something...with a little more pigment. (Suggestions appreciated!!)

Next up, a quick tour of the homeschool room!

Long time, no blog

I feel like it has been forever since I have posted anything and then I realize it has been nearly a month!  As much as I want this to be our virtual scrapbook, I feel like it is hard to keep up.

As soon as Christmas was over, I started planning for our next school year.  Since we choose to school year round and take days off as we need them, our curriculum is running out. Maggie would be in first grade (based oher age) if she were in traditional school.  We are currently finishing up first grade math, but everything else is second grade.  So...most of what we will be doing when we finish our current work will be third grade. It has never been our intention to be ahead.  We are much more interested in following her lead and doing what we need to do.  Which explains why we/I decided that doing another year of first grade math would be best.  Maggie was getting so frustrated with math, so I went with my gut and decided to try another curriculum.  She still gets frustrated, but the different curriculum is a much better fit for us.  I ordered ALL of our curriculum last night, so I feel like I get a little vacation from planning.  Once all of it arrives I have to decide how many days a week we will have each subject, with the core subjects being daily.  I also have a list of different things that I want to implement from journals and book reports, to art studies and manners lessons.

Once we made the decision to be a homeschooling family, we knew that our upstairs bonus room would be our future classroom.  I had thought we would wait a couple of years, but we found that we were outgrowing our kitchen table.  Our kitchen table has an unfinished wooden top (due to the fact that i stripped the finish off) and we feel completely comfortable with getting markers, glue or paint on it.  I thought about moving us into the dining room, but I try to keep that table looking nice.  Big Daddy always tells me that we will do what I need to make things better.  I shopped around online and picked out several different desk options, created a secret board on Pinterest with everything that I wanted, made a ton of lists and then we set off for Ikea.  We LOVE that place!  It's about an hour and a half away and the weather was not in our favor, but we made it there in back in snow and freezing rain and my sweet husband bought everything on my list.  We are extremely happy with our purchases!

I will share pictures of our classroom tomorrow!  Stay tuned!

Bringing An Outdoor Cat Inside

 I have been doing lots of  internet searches  research on bringing an outdoor cat inside, what cats do at night and lots of other cat related things.  Big Daddy and I both grew up with outside cats that were strays that had wondered up and stayed around because they were fed and given attention to.  Once we realized that Rainbow was getting injured in fights, we wanted to keep him safe.  Research states that having a male cat neutered should reduce fighting and wandering by about 90%.  Of course, it also helps control the pet population and it breaks my heart to see stray animals.  The best way to protect them from predators, is by having them inside.  Since I saw a fairly large coyote right across the street from our house last Friday, Big Daddy and I decided that we HAD to keep him inside at night.

When we took Rainbow to the vet for his shots, we scheduled the appointment to have him neutered.  He would have to be at the office around 7am and would need to be inside ALL the time for a minimum of 48 hours.  We gave him the litter box a week before surgery and hoped that he would sleep well in the house on the night before surgery.  We wanted to make sure that Rainbow didn't have anything to eat after midnight and decided that bringing him in for the night would be the easiest way.  He went to sleep well and then was up meowing at all of the bedroom doors around 4am.  I sat up with him and he was happy just having one of his people around!  Big Daddy left for work around 7am and took Rainbow by the vet on his way.  The doctor called around 12:00 to let me know that he tolerated the procedure well, but had an upset tummy.  I went to pick him up around 4:00 and he seemed excited to see his family.  The tech warned me that he had been a little aggressive and even growling at them.

I decided to have Maggie and Ellie play in their rooms while I took Rainbow, still in his crate, into the laundry room.  When I opened the door he went straight to the litter box.  After that, he prowled around the house like a tiger looking for a person to eat.  He jumped on everything!  The kitchen table, the dining room table, all of the beds and the couch.  After a couple of hours, he crashed!  Sweet boy went to sleep and woke up around 4am.  He was once again, meowing at the bedroom doors.  Big Daddy and I decided that we would try to leave our bedroom door opened the next night.  He seems to enjoy just being in the room with us, even if we're asleep.

And things have been great ever since!

Rainbow sleeps most of the night.  We do not hear him meow, but can sometimes hear the kuh-thump of him chasing his toys in the living room on the hardwood floors.  I have gotten up during the night to use the bathroom and he will be asleep in our bedroom floor.  We are super- thrilled with how well things have been going.  On Monday, we decided to let him out in the morning and he has been staying out for a few hours before coming home...to nap.  He loves looking outside during the day and has several perches that we have given him so that he can enjoy the views.

Much to my surprise, I have done surprisingly well with both the cleanliness issues and my asthma and allergies.  I have found more of my hair (and our new American Girl, Caroline) on the floors than  I have cat hairs.  I dust mop daily (except for Sunday) and generally keep the house quite clean.  From what I've read this is probably why my allergy to cats seems to be under control.  If I carry him or rub my eyes before I have washed my hands, I will get itchy and watery eyes and a little sniffle.  I comb Rainbow (which he loves) daily, but that doesn't seem to pull off a lot of hair.  I guess we'll see how much he sheds when warm weather comes!  I clean out the litter box daily and we haven't had any odor issues except for right after he potties.

2012- The Year I Became A Crazy Cat Lady

I couldn't think of a better title for this post!  Of all the things that happened in 2012, one of the most unexpected (and happiest) things was that we became cat "owners".

When our hamster Olivia died (somewhat prematurely) I never planned on getting a cat or dog.  We had thought about it, but didn't want an indoor pet because of my asthma, allergies and the fact that I like a clean house and didn't need anyone else to clean up after.  For the past 12 years I have had horrible asthma issues and most pets just didn't seem like a possibility.  I have always thought indoor pets were fine for other people, but that it wouldn't happen for us.

And then Rainbow happened.

I need a shirt that says "Let me tell you about my cat".  I LOVE this boy.  I say at least three times a day, "You really are an exceptional cat".  He is well-behaved, loves the girls and just seems so happy here with us.  Of course, he adopted us, so I like to think that he loves the people that he lives with.

The first week of December we started having issues with Rainbow having injuries.  Our boy was getting in fights.  We discussed his place in our family and decided that we would talk about having him "fixed" and we discussed the idea of him living inside.  I admit, I panicked.  I would wake up at night and worry about everything that comes with having an indoor pet and I prayed a lot.

One morning when I went out to feed him, he didn't come.  After a few minutes, I realized he was in his (dog) house and he was hurt.  I saw a few drops of blood and realized that he had a deep gash all the way to the bone in his tail.  It broke my heart.  A couple of days later, he was waiting on me with a bloody ear that had a little rip in it.  Big Daddy and I decided to take him to the vet for his shots and to discuss having him neutered.

So...Rainbow took his shots like a big boy and the vet examined his injuries.  She said that something (another cat or possibly a coyote) had grabbed his tail and that it had been ripped while he was running away.  The doctor cleaned his injured ear and gave him a shot of antibiotics.  She also examined his crooked smile and said that earlier in his life...his jaw had been broken.  I think Big Daddy and I both gasped when she said that he had most likely been hit by a car.  I had thought hoped that his tooth was just one of those sweet things that made him special.  The doctor estimated his age at much older than we had expected.  she said that he was probably so small and had grown so much in the past three months because he was suffering from being malnourished when he came to our house.

Anyway...Rainbow will go to the doctor tomorrow to be neutered.  He has been spending LOTS of time in the house in preparation for his recovery period.  He stays in all day and goes to the door when he wants out to potty or prowl.  He has also used the litter box that I placed in the laundry room.  (HUGE step for me!)  We are planning to let him be an indoor/outdoor cat.  We only let him stay in the house when we are home and we do not let him get on any of the furniture.  He will be sleeping inside at night while he recovers from his surgery and we'll see what  he wants to do we decide after that.

My heart has changed and I do not want to imagine our house without Rainbow around.  He is a nice addition to our family.
I pet him and wash my hands immediately and haven't had anything more than watery eyes for a few minutes- even after holding him on the way to and from the vet.  Several of my friends have told me that he probably won't bother my allergies since I keep the house so clean. We'll see,

This Christmas

I feel like things have been so busy since Thanksgiving!

We put our tree up on Thanksgiving evening.  Maggie and Ellie helped decorate it and went to bed a little late.  I stayed up until 2am getting everything decorated and all of the glitter and tree needles cleaned up.

 Stairway

 Foyer

 Mantle (Ellie wanted "rainbow" lights somewhere, so we opted for the mantle)

 Living Room Tree

 Our Jesse Tree in the kitchen

 Rainbow comes in a couple of times a day and likes to sneak under the tree because the girls can't bother him there!

 Maggie's Tree

Ellie's Tree

The tree in the kitchen was my favorite!  My mom had an extra tree and I decided it would be nice in our kitchen.  I put brown balls, brown glittery snowflakes and chartreuse balls on it.  Then...I decided that we should do a Jesse Tree.  I went shopping for a little tree to use and couldn't find anything I liked, so the kitchen tree is now our Jesse Tree.  We really love it and it's fun to see the kids get excited over eating that little piece of chocolate from their Adven calendars while finding out what the Bible verse for that day is.  They color the symbol on their ornament and we discuss the story and how it leads up to the birth of Christ.   Maggie knows most of the stories so well because of our great love for The Jesus Storybook Bible.

We also decorated gingerbread houses this year.  Big Daddy and I each bought one on the same day, so we had an extra.  My mom, sister and Cousin Callie came over we listened to Christmas music, had coffee and decorated.

  We have had lots of holiday parties that we have skipped, just because I do not want to feel any busier than I have to be.  We did enjoy a fun party with our homeschool group and we have some special services that we will be attending at church.  The parties that we didn't/aren't attending- Preschool Birthday Party for Jesus at a children's museum, K-5 Birthday Party for Jesus at BounceU, a Homeschool Baby Shower for Jesus at a skating rink with all gifts going to a local pregnancy crisis center and the children's Christmas play at church.  We will be going to the choir and drama team's concert on Sunday and next Sunday we will have a candle light Lord's Supper.

I was able to go to Sanford to meet my best friends for a Christmas/birthday dinner celebration.  We went to an "adult" restaurant!  It was a little too quiet for us, so we may have to go to a different place for our next night out.  The food, service and fellowship was wonderful!  We had one of those waiters that just knew exactly what to do...and he was nice enough to take a picture of us (he warned us that the lighting would ve awful) with three different devices.  I also did a little shopping with K before our dinner.  I am taking Maggie and Ellie to Sanford next week so that they can see Gammy Gladys, so I'll get to visit A and her kids a little then too.

Thankful

I often feel overwhelmed with all that I have to be thankful for.  I think making a list is always a great way to really see the big and little blessings in your life.  I'll be working on thankful lists with Maggie and Ellie later today and I'm looking forward to seeing what they want on their lists.

• I'm thankful for my people.  They drive may crazy, cause me trouble and are probably giving me gray hairs, but I wouldn't want to live without my husband and my girls.
• I'm thankful that I can be a stay at home mom and I'm so thankful that we have the option to homeschool our girls.
• I am thankful for our house.  We are so wealthy compared to so many.
• I am thankful for my homeschool mom friends.  There are certain parts of homeschooling that only another homeschooler can understand.  Knowing that someone else has the same worries, insecurities, fears and feels pressured the same way that I do is so comforting.
• I'm thankful for our church.  I have talked to so many people lately that have left their church or want to leave their church to go somewhere that meets their needs better.  I am so thankful that we found "our" church in Sanford and that it helped us to know what we wanted for ourselves and our children. It would have been so easy when we moved here if we had started going to the church that I grew up in, but we went out of our comfort zone and visited churches.  We knew what we wanted for our children and we feel so blessed to be where we are.  
• I am thankful for my family.  I have wonderful parents and an awesome sister.  I could eat my niece and nephew up, too.
• I am thankful that Maggie and Ellie know so many things about the Bible and different characters in the Bible.  Another proof that we are in an amazing church.
• I am thankful for Rainbow.  When this sweet cat came up, we had no idea if he would stay.  He has brought so much happiness and joy to our home.  I tell Big Daddy almost daily that I truly believe this is an exceptional kitty cat.  We bought an extra small dog house for him and he walked right in and loves sleeping there.  He can fetch toys and Maggie has taught him a little sign language...or so she says.
• I am thankful that our church has a heart for missions and there are so many ways to serve.  From the homeless shelter that they run in the winter to the numerous mission trips that are organized throughout the year.  I am so thankful that Maggie and Ellie are learning that they are more than just a light in the church and that they really are and can be a light for the whole world.
• I am thankful that I have the courage to answer Maggie's questions with as much honesty as I can.  She has always thought that the idea of Santa seemed silly.  This year I had the courage to tell her the story of St. Nick and admit hat we had been lying to her.
• I am thankful for my friends.  I would be lost without my best mommy friends, A & K.  I love the vasa previa moms that I am able to be friends with because of the internet.  Even though we are separated by miles and oceans and we have something so big in common.  
• I am thankful that Ellie has finally started showing an interest in writing her name.  It sounds small, but it's so big to me.  I often compare Ellie to what Maggie was like at this age and every child learns in such different ways.  Ellie works in her preschool binder almost an hour (or however long she wants to) every school day, so she has an interest in learning.  She loves to trace letters, but until the past week or two, she wouldn't try to make any letters on her own.  When she brought me a piece of paper with the letters of her name on it, my heart soared.
• I am thankful that is so easy to keep in touch with people.  Facebook and the internet are often used in negative ways, but they can be huge blessings to a stay at home mom.

Of course, I could go on.  The clock always seems to be ticking and someone needs me.  It's good to be needed and I am so thankful for that!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

It's A Boy!

I haven't mentioned this before, but for a little over a month we have had a cat!!  Of course, it was not something that we planned.  We lost Olivia the second week of September and I was still sort of missing her and still sort of enjoying having one less thing to worry about.  A Maggie would say, this is the cat that God gave us.

We were outside playing and this sweet cat just walked up.  He was obviously hungry and thirsty and seemed extremely affectionate.  We gave him some leftovers and a little water and he just didn't want to leave.  Within a couple of minutes, Ellie had given him the name "Rainbow".  Maggie had saved a plastic tray from our trip to the greenhouse that day and she immediately created a bed for him.  We put it on our back porch with a bowl of milk and decided that if he managed to stick around until morning we would buy food, a food and water dish and a flea collar for him.  Rainbow had on a decorative collar that was too small and very worn, so we removed it and replaced it with a purple collar.  I talked to our neighbor and Rainbow had visited their house for a couple of days earlier in the week.  We aren't sure why he left his other home, but I told Maggie that we would love him for as long as he was here.

Maggie has spent many hours playing with him and he happily lets her do all sorts of stuff with him.  He runs through the door every morning when we go out to feed him and really seems to want to be where we are.  He has brought lots of happiness to our family and Maggie says that he is the pet she has always dreamed of.

And I am sort of in love with his crooked smile.

Fall Fun

We have visited a pumpkin patch with our homeschool group and jumped in lots of leaves!!

Fall and Friends

 Fall has definitely arrived here in North Carolina and I am loving all that it brings to our house- the cooler weather and even the shortened days.

Our fall activities are in full swing.  Maggie, Ellie and I are all participating in AWANA at our church again this year.  Ellie is enjoying her first year of Cubbies, Maggie her second year of Sparks and I am teaching three year old Cubbies for the third year in a row.

Maggie is taking Sign Language Through Song and American History through our homeschool co-op.  Ellie and I have an hour of playtime and then an hour of Kindermusik together while Maggie is in class.  Maggie is also LOVING her Beginners Tumbling class.  It seems to suit her a little better than dance did.

We are also going to Storytime at our local public library.  Maggie feels a bit old for it, but there are a few other homeschooled kids her age that are there with younger siblings and she still really enjoys it.

Last week I was able to enjoy my first night out with my friends with NO kids in over five years!  My last night out was when Maggie was a little over a year old and I went out with my former co-workers.  This time it was a night out with my besties!  We have never been alone without at least one child.  "A" came to visit me in the hospital on the day after Ellie was born.  When "A" gave birth to her baby 4 months later, "K" and I visited her a few hours after delivery.  To be together without kids was so much fun.  We ate at Cracker Barrel and then found ourselves at Walmart.  We were only together for 3 hours, but it was blissful.  I am SO thankful for these two special friends.

Lots of people think that "mommy bloggers" are lame, but for some of us (me included) it is one of our ties to the outside world.  Even though you may not have any real interaction with the bloggers, you often feel like they are one of your friends.  Reading blogs is sort of like touching base with a friend anytime that you have the time to do it.   Big Daddy was watching a movie with the girls yesterday when I ran across this post from Kelly.  (There is info at the bottom of the post if you feel led to help out.)  I was heartbroken.  The outpouring of love and support is reminder that sometimes these relationships that are formed are more than just on-line.

Family Vacation

Since our June beach trip was full of rain and we decided not to go to Disney again this calendar year, we decided to go to the beach for a full week.  Saturday to Saturday.  Eight days and seven nights.  Maggie was probably more excited than any of us!

We had lots of fun, but had a bit of bad news on Wednesday.  Our hamster passed away. Olivia had been acting normal and extremely active for the past several weeks.  I had found a little bit of blood in her cage a few weeks ago.  Maggie saw it too and had asked if she was okay.  Since she seemed fine, we hadn't thought too much about it and wondered if it was some coloring from some of her food.  All of my hamsters had lived for over 2 years and we had only had Olivia for 15 months, so Maggie was especially devastated and I admit that I was too.  I could write pages about the conversations that we have had about her since she left us.  More than anything, Maggie wants to know what caused her to die.  All of the people that Maggie has lost in her life had some sort of sickness beforehand.  To the girls, Olivia was truly a member of our family.  Maggie wrote her notes and both girls prayed for her every single night during their bedtime prayers.

And now...beach happiness!

WHY does blogger turn pictures the wrong way sometimes????