1. My Moms' Weekend Away was so wonderful. We stayed in a beautifully redone old farmhouse via Airbnb. The owner took us through it when we got there and explained that his grandfather had built it and he was raised in it. They totally updated it to rent it out and it was perfect for our weekend. We spent most of our time sleeping, talking, watching cheesy movies and funny youtube videos, and of course eating! We went out once to Arby's and an antique store (where I got a globe for $10! woot!). On Saturday night, Christina was sweet enough to share her watercolor supplies and give us newbies a little tutorial. I wasn't very good at it, but it was still relaxing and fun. And I made one picture that turned out OK enough that I think I'm going to give it to Lucy for Christmas. I'm so grateful for this tribe of mom friends going through the same phase of life as me and striving to be godly wives and mothers!
2. I don't know if it was the refreshment of getting away for a weekend or if my wonky hormones finally settled down, but I had a really good week depression-wise. It's frustrating because nothing changed. This week was much the same as last week. But I made it through each day without every little disappointment sending me into a downward spiral. I wish I knew what caused the depression - although it's probably something horrible like gluten or sugar or Dr Pepper! I think I'd be just as depressed if I had to give all that up! Lol.
3. I wasn't going to vote on Tuesday because I'm so fed up with politics and liars and everyone with their own agenda. I feel like I can't trust what anyone says, so why even bother? But then Lucy asked me how we vote and I felt like it was my responsibility as a homeschool mom to show her - not to mention my responsibility as an American citizen. So I herded the kids to the polls in the freezing rain and sat in my booth alternately filling in circles and yelling, "Levi! Get back here!" like the white trash mom that I am. Of course almost everything I voted for went the opposite way because I'm a bigoted, privileged, white conservative. One of the proposals I voted against (which passed) was legalizing marijuana. I have zero desire to engage in political discourse about it, but I did chuckle when I came across these memes later in the week:
True story.
Another true story.
4. Lena moved up to the next level in gymnastics last week. It worked out that the class we signed her up for only has one other student - her friend Aubrey! So it's pretty much private lessons without the private lessons price! And it's been so good for her. The previous level was way too easy, and she is loving the challenge and intensity of this new class. Her teacher helped her do a back walkover this week and Lena asked me to spot her at home. I helped her twice then walked away to do something and she shouted, "I did it myself!" Since then she has been rocking it all on her own. Although it's not truly a back-walkover because she can't do a backbend unassisted. She does a handstand, falls into a bridge, then kicks back over. I missed the handstand part in this video, but you get the idea . . .
5. Today, my sisters and I hosted a baby shower for our sister-in-law, Esther. She's due with a baby girl in one month and we had so much fun putting together a floral themed shower for her. My sisters and I have a great system wherein I do all the planning (my forte), Niki provides the financing (her forte), and we all work together to make the food. (Libby's forte is helping with whatever is needed and nursing her baby every 2 hours. Haha.)
My pathetic looking tissue paper flowers. Haha. They looked better in person!
The picture of Nova was already on this shelf. :-D
Flowers in my grandma's tea set, and some cute signs. Esther's family keeps bees, so I had fun sneaking bees in anywhere I could.
As per usual, I made up my own games because I'm a game snob. I've come up with some fun stuff in the past, so the pressure was on. I managed to come up with 2 for this shower, but I'm about tapped out, so I need my family members to take a little hiatus from marrying and childbearing. ;-)
I wrapped books in brown paper and wrote an alternate title or book synopsis for clues.
To reveal the answers, Esther unwrapped each book. She got to keep all the books (plus about 20 others that I've been collecting over the past few months. Haha!)
Game two was "Guess the Celebrity Before they Were Famous." I found a bunch of pictures of famous actors as babies/kids and compiled them into this:
I gave the party guests a list of names to choose from. You're out of luck with that, but I'll share the answers at the end of this post.
One of my favorite parts of the shower was when Esther opened her gifts from my girls. Lucy decided a few days ago that she wanted to make a blanket for the baby. She used her tie blanket kit and ended up with this:
Not to be left out, Lena also wanted to make something. We ended up finding a canvas bag at Meijer that Lena could color. She cranked this out in one sitting and was so proud to wrap it up for Esther.
I know my photography skills are on point. Lol.
We're so excited for Esther and Luke and can't wait to meet their baby girl!! Although it still seems crazy to me that my little brother is a dad!!
6. Now that the shower planning is done, I'm moving on to one of my other favorite things: Christmas planning! It snowed for the first time this week so we busted out the Christmas music. The Black Friday ads have been popping up online, and tomorrow is the epic Kohl's deal day. You guys can't miss this sale. All day tomorrow and Monday, you can get $10 off each order of $25 or more with the code VETERANS. Even better, if you have a Kohl's credit card, you can stack a 30% off code (APPLE30) and a free shipping code (MVCFREENOV). So if you can get your cart total to just over $25, use the $10 code and the 30% off, you'll get your order shipped to your door for around $11! Plus, there's no limit! You can do as many orders as you want with those codes! (At least in years past.) The only bummer is that many things on Kohl's website won't let you use the 30% off code - name brands like Under Armour, Nike, Levi's, Adidas, and new this year: all toys. Boo. But if you want clothes or housewares or bedding or Christmas decorations, this is the sale of the year!! (Oh, and if you shop through Ebates, you'll get even more cash back on top of the deals! Go through my referral link to earn us both extra money. #shamelesspromotion)
7. A few more pictures:
Our neighbor finally harvested the corn right next to our house. Levi was in his glories!
Nash and Levi snuggles
He actually fell asleep on me the night I got home from girls' weekend.
Chillaxin'
Science projects and cheesy faces
Testing what will happen to various objects if they sit in water overnight. Animal cracker, pebbles, skittles, construction paper, soap, and a cork.
Taking his baby for a walk in the leaves.
Enjoying the first snowfall.
Lucy and Nash
Game answers. In case you can't figure out my shorthand: 2 is Jennifer Garner, 3 is Ashton Kutcher, 6 is Leonardo DiCaprio, 10 Sarah Jessica Parker, 11 George Clooney, 14 Brad Pitt
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete