Even though this is Christmas week I have decided we can still learn about stuff, so we finished up redoing the laundry room. This "little" project was started in July by the way. I had done all my research, I had read blog after blog and searched pinterest until my eyes were going to pop out. This would be easy peasy! Not, Not, NOT!!!!!!!!! Did I mention that everything I read online had not prepared me for the drama that would become my laundry room?
I truly wish I had taken better before pictures, but this is it. Hopefully you can get an idea.
See the top of the wall there? That is trim and that trim is just blahhh in my opinion so out it came. Now according to what I read it was just nailed up there easy to remove....... They lied! There were huge gaps between the ceiling and the wall. I mean easily able to put my hand in it. So that had to all be fixed. Thank God for my handy dandy Uncle Jason. If I had tried this alone I would have been in tears at this point as well as clueless.
Years ago a tree had taken out quite a bit of this room and it seems like the fix it man my parents paid dearly for had literally patch worked walls and covered open broken seams. So much prep had to go into the walls to smooth them out and it never did get perfect but it still turned out 100% better than what it was when we started.
After being a complete stay at home mother for over a decade, I have went back to work part time. It has been a whirl wind of busy and trying to figure out what works, what don't work and how to get it all done. Now I have a secret to tell all of you. It is a pretty big secret so listen and pay close attention....
I DO NOT GET IT ALL DONE!!!!! I repeat I do not get it all done. Not even close, not even a little bit not at all. A few months back I saw a friend at Walmart and she totally shocked me by calling me "Supermom". I was riding that high for quite a while. Honestly, I still am. Do I want to get it all done? Of course I do! Do I plan to get it all done? Again, of course. The main question is though, can I get it all done?
The answer is no, nobody can and if they say they are they are most likely fibbing. I never managed to get it all done before working, now well I try is about all I am going to say! I know how to take pretty decent pictures too so that is helpful. I know how to crop out the piles of laundry on the table, or the messy floor! So, this post is for moms who are thinking there is no way to go back to work! Just some little tricks of the trade I have found along the way and felt I could share.
Yep I had to take some pictures! This is my board and I will say it is VERY helpful.
Our friend Little Elf brought us some gingerbread houses to build to start off our week. This has become some what of a tradition now. It started with Devlin when she was young and now happens pretty much every single year.
The best part was daddy coming to build with the kiddos!!
Our animal post this week!
Stella Luna
Gizmo
The weeks seem to be getting busier and busier, not sure if it is life or Christmas! Our Little Elf made his appearance for the year and surprise he brought a friend!
Little Elf made his appearance at first some years back. He is not the typical "Elf On A Shelf". He had once sat in my mothers Christmas tree and then growing up he sat in mine. Now he belongs to my children and his antics keep them busy
every Christmas! Last year he brought a reindeer friend, this year it is a St. Bernard. As usual he thrills Skyler. Now that the other kids are a bit older they help with Little Elf.
He likes sleeping in his little house that he built years ago.
Apparently his friend was put in the candy cane jail and he was trying to break him out!!
Poor pup!
Every week we take tons of pictures of our crazy animals that never get shown off. So I promised my kiddos I would start posting them all each week for the animal lovers out there!
We didn't do a full week of school so I am just counting this as a few days not a week. Besides our wonderful Thanksgiving we did some regular school on Monday and Tuesday.
Fox has had fun using the new Lego Crazy Contraptions. I was very leery on trying this book since the last lego book was just impossible unless I bought so many more pieces. So far this has been working out. He made something that resembled a hand held mixer and a grabber. It was neat to see the way things work together.
I am amazed I managed some pictures of him with a shirt on! Damian enjoyed making brain sludge out of vinegar and milk.
The week before Thanksgiving!!! It was a pretty full week even with pottery on a break. Skyler is still working away with her minecraft journal from The Thinking Tree. She is learning all about mining, rocks, minerals and anything else that we can throw in there to go along with it! She also started a new writing book again from The Thinking Tree.
1/4 of the way through the school year and I am still loving The Thinking Tree products!
I am fairly sure that she must have her cats nearby to do any school work. The little black kitten was suppose to be a "find a home for kitten" well she is of course in love so looks like he has a new human.
This a writing project in her minecraft journal. She is learning all the different types of salt mining.
The week seemed to fly for us. This is the week that we get a new president so I thought I would give the kids a bit of background on elections. I don't follow politics, I really dislike the whole bit of it and whatever I did learn in school has long since been forgotten. The elections this year could not be ignored since Trump and Hilary spark such massive emotions in people.
We got out the Amanda Bennet Elections study and the boys got to work. For Skyler I just added a book to her pile of reading for the day.
I got this book years ago on a clearance sale and forgot I owned it. "America The Making of a Nation" This book is one of those interactive type things it has pull out pieces and such. I truly enjoy these types of books. It seems they were a big deal then kinda faded out but we still have quite a few of them and we still enjoy them.
So of course the library with their amazing internet was a must!
We also worked on Skylers piper computer. This is a wonderful project and for us quite challenging. The forum community for the piper has been a huge plus in this project and anyone who gets one should surely use this.
Skyler managed to do a Fall project and a crystal growing project this week.
The boys are both waiting on things to be shipped so they didn't get to any projects this week. My kids of course had fun doing school with their animals though!
Well that about wraps up our week. Hope everyone else has had a good one and not too many people are crushed over the elections results!
What a busy week! Two field trips, school and me working! I think we accomplished quite a bit though! Not many projects this week sadly. Skyler and Fox both started their new journals though!! Massive excitement there.
I am so thrilled to say I actually helped edit this book and make up a few writing prompts! Now my daughter gets to use it!
She was also thrilled with her new computer class....
This was too perfect not to have together! This is a piper minecraft computer and it is awesome!!! This was something she couldn't wait to sit down and make her brother help put it together.
Those blueprints are HUGE! I am so excited for Skyler to use the minecraft book! We have been waiting a long time for this!
Damian did do a little unit about baking soda for a project this week. We didn't totally slack!
Fox had his pick between a few different journals and I was kinda surprised he didn't pick minecraft as well.
Every year the Stephen Foster park has a old timey kinda day so we went this year and after a few pictures and a few minutes all my kids were just ready to go! It was horribly crowded and my kids just weren't feeling it!!
We did stop by to see the amazing pottery teacher though! She is our favorite by far. We also watched them make cane syrup because that never gets old either.
We came home and spent the afternoon decorating for Fall.
Skyler had to make a little fairy garden of course!
We also got to stop at homeschool park day with awesome friends!
It was wonderful that this little cutey from the highway managed to score a great home as well. Strays are my weakness so I am almost always looking to home a puppy!
I was very impressed to receive this from my oldest childs' college. I am a proud momma!!
We finished our week with the history museums astronomy day. This happens once a year and it is always fun. It is almost an hour drive so it was even more fun getting half way there only to hear Skyler say, she forgot her shoes! We found some flip flops at Dollar General and had a great night together.
This artwork is also 3-D and it is amazing.
This cool guy told us all about how they are growing plants in space.
We had such a full week and such a fun time!
