Handlin’ My Stuff

After the misery of last week, I decided I needed to get a handle on my stuff and stop whining so much.

So, I’m making the kids do more work.

We picked 60# of cherries at a u-pick orchard in less than an hour.

Then we canned them.

And when I say we, I mean every.one.

Then I implemented a behavior gauge.

I think we all know that the ‘call to dad’ is just a formality, seeings how Bryce is the nicer one.

If they move up to ‘practically perfect in every way’, they get two tickets.

I know this is working because there has been more than one incident of tears when the clothespin is moved up or down.

Tears are a sure indicator of how effective a disciplinary tactic is working.

Cruel, but true.

They can earn tickets throughout the day with good behavior, which they save up….

to buy something from the box.

I also told them we’d do a craft a week.

Which is only a good idea in theory.

I don’t know if doing crafts with the kids makes me a better or a worse mom.

Creativity is really, really, really frustrating.

 

They mod-podged fabric and buttons onto cardboard initials.

They glued sheet music to a piece of wood, put stickers on, painted over it, and then peeled off the stickers.

Adeline cannot discern the difference between a phrase and a word, even after I calmly, very calmly explained it to her…..

for 23 minutes.

The flowers were a craft in Family Fun magazine.  I picked up some wire whisks at the dollar store and garage sales. 

I flattened the wires, and the girls mod-podged wrapping paper on the ‘petals’ then we glued a pom-pom in the middle.

And that’s how this week is going.

Is it any better than last week?

Not really, but it’s not from lack of effort. 

It may or may not be because of pouring down rain for three days straight at the end of June.

Three whole days.

It’s anyone’s guess at this point….

Katie

4th of July Decor

Well, the week improved.

Bryce gave me $25 budget, sent me out after the kids were in bed, and told me not to come back till I bought myself a positive attitude in the form of some new shoes and craft supplies.

I saw this picture on Pinterest and wanted to do something in my home similar to it.

Here’s my before picture.

And this is what I came up with.

I really wish I was better at taking pictures or at least my camera was better…

oh well.

I gathered every blue, white, and red thing in my house and started putting them together.

Turns out I have some sort of latent tendency to patriotic colors, because I ended up with a ton of stuff to work with.

By the front door….

up the stair case….

and on the piano.

 

Even a bit on the front of the house.

Hope you have some fun plans for the weekend.

We’re going cherry picking.

Katie

A Veiled Pity Party

Today I’m not going to care.

I’m not going to care:

about my house being a constant mess despite the fact that I constantly pick it up.

that my kids are constantly bickering, fighting, whining, and generally discontent.

about going to bed last night feeling completely defeated and overwhelmed.

about a random acquaintance making constant rude comments about the size of my belly.  Multiple times, in a twenty minute period.

about chickens and slugs taking full advantage of my hard work in the garden.

that I turned some choice pieces of clothing blue that were once white.

that all children were awake at 6:30am this morning, despite the fact that 75% of them went to sleep at 9:30pm, of their own choosing.

about all the people that lied to me and said that boys were easier than girls.

about making healthy, well-rounded meals and just feed the masses cold cereal and mac and cheese.

that based on other people’s blog posts, their lives are way better than mine, they’re children better behaved, their house cleaner, their meals tastier, the sun shinier….

about what other people say or feel when I gripe and complain about a hard day. 

or feel guilty that sometimes I say swear words inside my head when I step in sticky stuff that’s all over my floor when I’ve been gone for a couple of hours…

that at this very minute I hate summer.

Katie

Odds and Ends

I made this quilt top before Christmas last year.

Which doesn’t seem that long ago if you still think it is February,

which I do most days.

I wanted to use up some scraps and wanted to implement some ric-rac.

Everything is better with ric-rac.

I finished up this quilt top last week.

I tried to send these quilts home with my mom so she could quilt them for me.

Fail.

And I’m really proud of the raspberries this year. 

Some of the stalks are seven feet high.

I measured them.

They’re ever-bearing so we’ll get two harvests, if we can keep this children at bay.

Hope you’re having a good week, and if anyone would like to swap a child for the summer, I’m ready and willing.

Katie

Birthdays

Here are the picnic tables and benches that Bryce made for my birthday, Mother’s Day, and possibly our anniversary.

I am unable to find the before pictures which aren’t really that riveting.

 

Cozy, huh?

Random sampling of our chickens.

And the birthday dinner set up.

Spencer’s in the picture.

He’s a terrible listener some most days.

And, yes, we buy syrup by the gallon.

And Meg with a cheesy smile because sometimes she is a terrible listener too.

Katie

Here at the Homestead….

• I am dying of heat.  Like, literally melting to death.  I scraped myself off the floor to write this post.
• school is out for the summer tomorrow.
• the girls are practically living in the dinky kid pool that I bought them.
• they all insist on wearing their goggles in the 30 in. depth.
• Meg turns four tomorrow.
• I bought more bees a little over a week ago so I have two hives going.
• My neighbor saw me in my bee suit.
• I was completely embarrassed.  And really sweaty.
• I spotted an owl in our trees last night.  I felt an oneness with her in our efforts to eradicate rats from the yard.  Solidarity, my friend.

The kids planting seeds.  In the rain, wearing boots, happily, all by themselves.

Spencer ‘reading’ books on the sunroom day bed.

Our first harvest of cherries.  Ever.  I’m thinking about four pounds total for the year from that one tree.  (The other’s tree attempt was almost pitiful.)

Adeline on her way to first grade.

Trying to beat {to death} the heat,

Katie