It was 10:30am on Tuesday morning and we found ourselves in our local library, gathered around a colorful rug with squishy cushions. The librarian was hosting the weekly Babies and Books story time. Parents doled out snacks to their babies and wrangled toddlers as we listened to stories and sang songs.
“For this next song, moms and dads can put their baby on their lap and bounce and sway them while we sing,” the librarian said.
All the parents gathered their babies who had crawled off and plopped them into their laps. Seeing this, Mordecai crawled into Sadie’s lap.
This would never have happened if Sadie was in school. She would have been well into her day, likely sitting at a desk. Perhaps solving math problems or learning phonics. Instead, she was snuggling her brother as we sang songs together on a Tuesday morning.
A lot of people question why we homeschool and that morning is one of the big reasons. Our family can be together! No, I can’t work full-time and we are forgoing that money in our family’s budget. But sitting on squishy cushions on a Tuesday morning while singing with my kids? Worth it. A million times over.
Sadie solved her math problems outside with me that afternoon. Beforehand, I had hidden phonics flashcards all over our yard as she raced to find them and sound out her words.
We may have “lost” me earning a full-time income, but we’ve gained time together, flexibility, and so much joy. It feels like such a huge privilege to be home with my kids, not a sacrifice. I think a lot of people who are skeptical of the journey we’ve chosen think of me being home as a sacrifice or drudgery, but it’s not. It’s my biggest blessing ❤️
We went to a birthday party last weekend and Sadie was able to hang out with chickens! A lot of people in our lives have chickens, so it’s fun to experience them without having to do the work of keeping them. I’d love to have some… but we have a husky… with a high prey drive. So we just get our chicken fix from family and friends!
Other things from the week included:
- Pet sitting Niva’s best husky friend for a few days
- Going to the library every day (Sadie got her own card!)
- Going to Lego Club
- Picking up Niva’s calling cards for Therapy work
- School… reading… everyday life stuff
- Baking for a birthday party
- Starting a chore chart for Sadie
How about some pictures?!
The pups love to play outside but they were not fans of the heat in Pittsburgh this week!
They get so excited when we get the fire truck cart at the grocery store. Cherishing these days where a fun shopping cart makes them so full of joy ❤️
Animal Friends (the pet shelter that we went to for therapy dog training and certification) created calling cards for all the therapy dogs! I picked up Niva’s and it was just too cute. Now when we go on visits, we can pass these out. They’re like Pokemon cards for dogs 🤣
Sadie’s chore chart! She said she would like to save up her money to buy a fish tank and a pet fish and then she wants to buy her brother a turtle. So sweet. I don’t know how Jimmy will feel about a turtle in the house but we’ll get there when we get there 😜
One afternoon this week we went to Lego Club at the library and Sadie’s design was displayed! She was so excited.
Just Mordecai being cute 🤎
The kids slept over my mom and dad’s house on Friday night and had the best time. Thank you mom and dad! It allowed me to make a smash cake and four dozen cupcakes for a first birthday party the next day!
The cupcakes were vanilla with peach buttercream and chocolate leaves! I had never done a peach buttercream before, so that was something fun and new for me to try out. The party was so much fun the next day. I took the kids and they played and played!
While the kids slept over my mom and dad’s house, I dragged Jimmy to Hobby Lobby so I could get supplies to make them fall-themed sensory bins. Yup… we got a break from the kids and we missed them so much we made them their own toys haha. That’s parenting summed up 😂
I was way so excited to give them their little bins haha. They both ended up loving them and played with them for quite a while. Definitely a win! Now I have about 500 ideas for more themes.
That brings us to today: Sunday! We’re headed to church and then Jimmy will be working on putting together furniture in the homeschool room at his work. We’re so close to being finished with this room. I can’t wait to share pictures! Since he’ll be out, I’ll be on kid duty. I’m sure we’ll be creating lots of scenes with mini pumpkins from the kids sensory boxes 😉
Living My Full Life 