Photo Dump #2

We hadn't been to the mall in a while, so we did a few of our favorites over Labor Day weekend.

Our church is building a new church, and we had walk through tours of the new location. Then we could write prayers on the walls of the sanctuary.

Our life group signed up for the same tour, and then went out for ice cream after!

:)

We went over to John and Alison's to watch the Buckeye game and hang out.

Logan just made himself comfortable on Avery.

The kids have been building all sorts of creations with the Duplos.  This is Olivia's mouse hotel. 

Mommy's boy!

People ask me if working at Target has ruined Target for me.  Working there hasn't ruined Target for me, it's ruined people for me.  But that's a whole other story.  But the truth is, even though I'm there 4 nights a week and I grocery shop there, I hardly ever shop there.  At least not in the ways of old where I would leisurely stroll through every aisle.  The reason is because I just don't have time.  I'm either with kids or at work.  Truly.  So one Saturday morning while Michael and the kids were at swimming, I decided to do it old school.  I got my first pumpkin spice latte of the season (I also hardly drink Starbucks these days... my, have times changed!), and I wandered through the store for hours.  I even tried some clothes on!  I can't even remember the last time I bought clothes for myself.  It was heavenly!

Silly kids... always throwing my pillows and blankets on the floor.

 These pictures crack me up!  Michael was on the phone with his mom, and then each kid talked to her.  Logan was just talking up a storm.  He was telling her he went to the ocean, he played in the sand, Boppa got sunburned....

So cute!

We've already watched Curious George Boofest (or whatever it's called), so they were being No Noggin.

We made an apple pie for Apple week!

August Photo Dump

When you don't blog for a month, you have TWO months of photo dumps to catch up on!

My brown eyed boy... or shark

These two!

It's nice to go to the library on a school day!  They have the kids area to themselves!

Puppets!

The bugs from bug week live on!

We've been trying to "use what we have".

She got this owl for her birthday, and we finally got around to painting it.

and we have more stickers than we know what to do with!

We get the playground mostly to ourselves too!

Sweet babies!

Someone was a little excited about his new swimsuit!

She got herself ready for the beach!

Oh, this boy! :)

MOPS Has Started!

You all know I just love my MOPS group!  This year I was asked to be on the steering team as the Group Leader Coordinator.  We have 15 tables, so there are 15 Group/table leaders under me.

Like I said the other day, I spent much of August preparing for my MOPS duties.  We had a retreat at the end of August that was all on me.

I had to buy gifts, make name tags, order food for our lunch, buy craft supplies, put together binders, and assign all 150 ladies to a table.  I also had to choose and buy the gifts that the table leaders give out during the year.  It ended up being a little more work than I had anticipated, and came with a few hiccups.  But it all worked itself out in the end.

Michael actually helped me export and import data (hello--his whole job!), which saved me HOURS of time.  He printed them for me, hole punched them, and even stuffed the binders while I was at work one night.  Bless that man!  I would have had many sleepless nights without his help!

Thankfully, for my position, most of the work is done up front.  I do have to meet with the girl's once a month, but those meetings will be much more low key and way less work.  I have a great group of girls, so I'm really excited for the year!

We've had a leadership meet and greet, and also we had a MOPS kick off last week.  Both events were full of yummy food, good conversation, and some laughs.  I am at the Starlight table this year!  My table leader is new to our group, but I already love her.

If you haven't noticed, our theme has to do with stars.  Technically, MOPS Int. has the theme of "We are the Starry Eyed".  However, there is a lot of controversy about it and the book that goes along with it.  So the church that hosts our group has decided to step away from the theme this year.  But we buy everything months before the first meeting and this was sort of a 4th quarter decision.  She we are still going with stars... just not the actually them.  

Each group leader had these blingy pocket mirrors to give out.  They could add tags or decorate them as they saw fit. There were so many cute ideas!

One of my favorite parts of MOPS is the food.  There is always so much yummy food to choose from!  We actually have one of these tables on BOTH sides of the sanctuary!

My table this year!

While I was at MOPS, I got a group text asking me to go on a play date. I sent them this picture telling them that they were missing out! :)

Logan actually went into his class without crying--which is literally a FIRST for us at MOPS.  And Olivia always loves her class.  Which is a good thing, because with this new role I'm in we are there every single Wednesday morning.

I'm looking forward to a great year, and I'm so glad we are finally back in the swing of things!

Leaf Walk

One of our homeschooling themes was leaves, so we went on a leaf walk to find some leaves to use.  We went to a local park that has a rather large pond and walking path.

The kids thought this was just great.

We had to search to find a variety of different sizes and colors.  She loved this really big one she found!

The path around the pond is about a mile, and I was regretting my decision half way through.  

It was SO HOT!

Logan had just gotten a new pair of tennis shoes, and he was cracking me up.  Apparently he thought they made him a star athlete! ;)

Thankfully there were a few benches along the way, but they'd only stop for a minute!

We were wishing we had brought something to feed the ducks!  Right after I took this picture, one of the ducks started to walk up to Logan a bit (looking for food) and he said, "Mommy! That duck just said hi to me!"  It made his day! :)

And then Olivia decided to try her hand at duck calls.  Ha ha!

We had a good walk, collected a bag of leaves, and played on the play ground for a bit after.  Despite melting, it was a good time.  I just can't wait for the temps to cool off so we can spend more time outside and enjoy it.  It's not as enjoyable when you leave drenched in sweat.  C'mon fall!

Homeschool Update

I'm asked nearly every day how homeschooling is going.  Seriously!  Which is fine.  I don't mind.  But I thought I'd just give an update on here for those interested...

The short answer is it's going really well.  We are in a rhythm that is working really well for us.  Our mornings are still slow, care free, and can be used to run errands.  We eat lunch, put Logan down for nap, and get to business.  I am really liking not having to jump right into it in the morning, because I'm not a morning person.  We did what works best for us and our situation--which is the beauty of homeschool!

oreos representing the moon phases

Olivia is really enjoying it.  Each week has a theme.  It's based around the letter of the week.  The theme is incorporated in all subjects.  Every weeks she says something like, "I always wanted to learn about (insert theme)".  Which is just about the cutest thing and makes this mommy's heart happy!

A lot of what we are doing is stuff she already knows, so I am adding my own things here and there.  But I also trust the curriculum.  I've read a lot of reviews, and everyone says that even thought it's a slow start, they will absolutely know what they need to by the end.  One of the things I am loving is the Biblical perspective and the conversations it has led us to have.  Each week there is a Biblical truth to go along with the theme.  For example, the first week was "Jesus is the light of the world" for sun. There were lots of comparisons and lessons. But then week two was "I am the light of the world" for moon.  It relayed that we reflect Jesus' light, just like the moon reflects the sun's light.  I love that!  It was so relatable for her!  She asked questions like, "is everyone the light of the world?" We've had so many great conversations. For apple week, we learned about the fruit of the spirit and bearing much fruit.  One day she did something really kind for Logan, and I said, "You did a great job bearing the fruit of kindness".  She was so proud of herself, and I loved how I could relate our lessons into our every day!

One of the things we work on the most is FOCUS!  She has so many stories going on in her head... so many ideas... so many things to say!  So we have to work on staying on task, following directions, and doing what is asked instead of wherever her mind leads.

Obviously we sometimes school in our pajamas with unbrushed hair. ;)

One of the components of the curriculum is a book basket.  The teacher's manual gives ideas for books that match up with each unit. There are informational books, easy readers, living books, and more.  Needless to say, we hit up the library at least once a week--sometimes multiple times.  I have learned how to use the request feature.  It's great!  The book basket is one of Olivia's favorite parts.  After our work is done, we curl up on the bed, and she picks out multiple books for us to read.  One thing I've noticed, is she really enjoys the classic stories. I love that!

an edible nest!

She loves all of the science experiments, crafts, hands on lessons and using manipulative's like cuisenaire rods.  Really, she loves just about everything we do.  Which makes it so easy.  She really loves doing Kindergarten at home, and she tells anyone who will ask.  We count how many days we've been in school, and she's already planning our 100 day celebration! ;)

So that's where we're at!  I love the flexibility too.  That is working out really well for us!

The Dentist

Remember when I was writing my monthly goals out?  Y'all probably thought I forgot about that, huh?  I didn't!  I spent the month of June preparing for Olivia's birthday party.  I spent the month of July preparing for school.  I spent the month of August preparing for MOPS and all of my duties that went along with that.  Of course, that was on top of working 4 nights a week and everything else on my plate! ;)  So I actually have been doing stuff.  It just hasn't made it into a goal post on my blog.

BUT we did accomplish one of those goals (last month!) and that was get the kids to the dentist!

I had so much going on that Michael ended up just picking someone from our insurance plan.  He set up the appointment and everything.  Bless him!  And he did a great job, too.  I loved the office he chose!

The kids names were even on the TV when we got there.

They loved that there was a little play are and Aladdin was on the TV.

The office was so cool!  Right around that wall Olivia was getting X-rays, and there were 3 different ipods set up at different heights for waiting kids to play.

Obviously it's been a while since I've been to a dentist.  I didn't even know they did x-rays with this hand held thing!

No x-rays for Logan, but he did get his blood pressure taken with this fancy automatic machine thing.

Then, the kids got a bag to fill with new toothbrushes, paste, stickers, and more!

They got to pick a movie (for the ceiling) and she wanted to keep watching Aladdin.

The dentist was great!  She didn't even mind Logan watching.  There were Bible verses on the walls and Christian music playing.  The whole experience was just wonderful!  And no cavities!!!

Logan chose to watch Cars.  He did really, really well.  No cavities for him, either!

We'll be back in 6 months! :)