My Daybook: July 1st, 2014

Outside my window…
the morning sun is shining, it promises to be warm winter’s day, it is still cold inside though.

I am thankful…

• to have our girl home from College
• for my talented husband who continues to astound me with his tiling progress
• that our three oldest boys are able to have this time together in the City, the bro’s just hanging out, they’re really happy:)

I am thinking…
about nutrition still, reading lots and lots about brain chemistry and how food impacts.  Researching flour and sugar alternatives, so many conflicting opinions.

Learning all the time…
holidays here, we’re in go slow mode.  I’m sure there must be value to be learnt from watching movies, playing computer games and having ‘cook offs’ in the mud kitchen;)

Celebrating the liturgical year……
actually we’re all about celebrating ‘Mega Birthday Week’ this week.  Three birthdays in one week makes for lots of festivities:):)  One special girl turned 10 yesterday, another lad turns 8 on the weekend and other young man will be 15 two days later.

From the kitchen…
baking and decorating cakes today, cupcakes too.  One Frozen cake, one How to Tame Your Dragon masterpiece, well at least I hope;) All in preparation for the combined birthday party of our 10 & 8 year olds with their friends tomorrow

I am creating…
aside from party food, we’re creating costumes, “Come as your favourite animated movie character” allows for lots of creative flexibility.  I’ll be sure to come back and share our costumes, they’re good ones:)

I am working on…
cleaning the house for tomorrow’s visitors, decorating a little for the party theme. Just a little, I’m not a super talented mama’s in the party department, the kids will still have fun though, that’s what’s important.

I am going…
to take a run into town to buy party food today, maybe some decorations if I happen to find any.

I am hoping…
for direction regards health and nutrition

I am praying…

• for our children
• for healing for a loved one
• for my brother, our nephew, our niece and their fiancees
• for two friends who are expecting 
• for our deacon who is to be ordained next week!

I am pondering….

• the importance of family
• parties, specifically when through necessity I am paring down to essentials, I wonder who are the ‘fancy touches’ for anyway? The kids, or the parents? Fine tuning my humility here, letting go, ouch.

I am reading…
my bedside table is overflowing with books on food, nutrition and chemistry. When taking a break from processing all that information I’m enjoying a stack of Ian Rutledge mysteries

I am listening to……
the uploading of Nerf guns. Jelly Bean received a new gun yesterday, so all the guns have been pulled out and Nerf guns are ‘all the rage’

I am hearing…

• children playing and discussing ‘war strategy’. 
• Bella on my lap cooing as I type (she is also trying to type, slowing down the process)

I am struggling…
to be patient with that  6 month baby stage of ‘I only want mummy’, not my favourite stage I admit

Clicking around…

• Actually I’m currently mulling over interpretation, see Sarah recently wrote an ebook on Teaching from Rest, which has received some hesitations from a couple of veteran homeschool mamas and from their combox.  I’ve yet to read Sarah’s ebook (on my to read pile) but I did read her series as she posted. I’m a bit uncomfortable with the reviews to be honest, they read to me as rather negative, though I understood what the authors were saying. This brings me back to interpretation, when I read Sarah’s writing I interpreted it considering the lens of where her life is now, and not that she was saying a State of Rest was a long term state. Interpretation, a vital part of communication
• Of Planning and Penguins I always ‘get’ what Kim has to say

Around the house…

• tiling in the ensuite is completed, PC has moved onto the main bathroom!!
• feeling the effects of having the big boys away and us being in holiday mode, the house needs a thorough tidy up 

One of my favorite things…
children playing imaginative games
having our girl home from College. I said that already didn’t I:)

A few plans for this week…

• 3 children’s birthdays
• birthday party with friends for our 8 & 10 year olds
• health appointment 1 hr away
• dentist appointment
• niece’s engagement party, 7 hours away
• boys come home, which means we’ll have all 10 children home!!:):):)
• Deacon’s ordination, an 1.5 hrs away

A little peek at my day…
party preparations, as Bella is in the ‘I only want mummy’ stage she slows me down so I have to allow extra time. Preparations will likely take all day.