Outside my window… the sun is starting to set on this beautiful feast of the Assumption.
I am thinking… about my little one. Will we be welcoming another baby girl, or perhaps a boy, this coming New Year’s?!? Tomorrow morning I have my next ultrasound, and we just might find out! I really don’t have any idea this time around. At first I thought it was going to be a boy, due to my nauseousness, but now that it has almost gone away, I am not sure. . . Any guesses? 🙂
I am thankful… that my husband’s brother will be back tomorrow night for a few more days! His visit to our home was broken up by a quick little trip (across the country) to give a retreat at a Carmelite Convent. The kids can hardly wait for his flight to arrive. Tomorrow is going to be an exciting day!
From the kitchen… Berry Cobbler with homemade whipped cream, our favorite dessert for the feast of the Assumption. We also have a big bowl of Blackberries that we picked this morning, alongside our walking trail! Yum!!
Learning all the time… Decisions, decisions. Our new school year is about to start and I have a few decisions that need to be made. There is a new homeschool charter school available in our area, and my husband and I think it might just be the answer to some of our prayers. With another new baby arriving this year, and 4-5 children in “school”, I had really wanted to look into a tutor to help out one day a week, but financially it is just not a possibility at this time. With this charter school I would have a lovely woman (I met her today) coming to the house for 4 hours a week “to help make my job a little easier” plus an allowance to use towards the children’s education! Of course I already have most of the books that we need for the year, but I can use the allowance towards the various consumables I still need, in addition to paying for all the extracurricular activities (like Hockey, Fencing, Ballet, etc) that our children wouldn’t otherwise be able to participate in this year. Do any of you belong to a charter school? If so, I would love to hear about any drawbacks that you have noticed… With the “first day of school” coming up on September 6th, we need to make a decision pretty soon!
Living the Liturgical Year at Home… Happy Feast of the Assumption!
I am creating… We just mailed out the cutest birthday party invitations to all of Twinkle Toes’ little friends. She will be turning 8 at the end of this month, and decided on a Tea Party to celebrate! It should be lots of fun!! Now I just need to get on with making all the decorations and favors!
I am wearing… flip flops! What was I thinking wearing flip flops while walking and picking berries?!? I really need to get a new pair of walking shoes soon! Do you have a favorite pair ? I’d love some suggestions!
I am reading… the pdf download of Beyond the Pilgrims. After finishing up our plans for American History, I ran across this little booklet. I really didn’t need it since I had already planned out our year, but I have enjoyed reading it, especially all the interesting little known facts about the Catholic Church in American that are included. I thought it was worth the $4.50 that I spent to purchase it from St. George Books, and we will definitely be incorporating some of those facts into our timeline!
Pondering these words… from today’s reading in Divine Intimacy
Noticing that… I am feeling quite “lived in” at the moment, especially with this active little baby kicking and rolling around all the time. I love it! Yesterday Snuggles grabbed my shirt and quickly peeked up saying “Hey! I don’t see a baby in there?!?” I can’t wait until he is able to feel this little one moving too… Soon!
Towards personal care… As I mentioned already, we went walking this morning. I’m gaining weight much quicker than I would like this pregnancy, and really need to find more ways to be active.
Around the house… I still have a couple boxes of books that I would love to pass on to new homes before school begins! I created a page with all the remaining books (I just haven’t updated the pictures), reducing the prices on almost all of them by about 40-50% (some are even free). Please take a look and let me know if there is anything you might be interested in. Next I hope to tackle all the excess clothing from my girls’ bedrooms to post on ebay! I’m just not sure there is enough time left to get to it all this summer!
Also, Thank You to everyone that participated in the Online Curriculum Sale Blog Hop! I was so pleased with all the participation, and perhaps we can make it an annual event. 🙂
I am hoping… to finalize my plans for Wreath IV of Little Flowers this coming week, in addition to responding to some of the emails waiting patiently in my inbox. With company coming again, it might not happen! 😉
I am praying… for Lucy Mae, in addition to a number of personal intentions for my extended family.
One of my favorite things… My new Catholic Daily Planner! I love, love, LOVE it!!!
A few plans for the rest of the week:
- Movie Night with my little sister, one of the twins, before she takes off for ROME!!
- Welcome home the other twin, who will be home from Hawaii for a few weeks before heading off to Texas!
- A sneak peak at our precious little one, and perhaps the answer to that little question – Boy or Girl!
- Another visit from “Uncle Father”
A Picture thought I am sharing:
I can't wait to find out if it is a boy or a girl! I am guessing boy…
Congratulations!!!!:):):)
Love love love the picture of your little angel:o)
When I read about you posting clothing items on ebay, it reminded me of something neat I recently read about that you may want to know about. The service is called ThreadUp. Here's a basic summary just in case this is a good option for you or any of your readers:
1) Browse our list of thousands of boxes full of preloved kids clothes & toys – just $5 (+ $10.95 USPS shipping). Get your box delivered to your doorstep in just a couple of days.
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We are not finding out this time!!! We didn't find out with our first. My husband didn't want to find out, then said he didn't care, now I'm excited to not find out!
Excited to hear what you are hving though!
I wear flip flops all summer, literally. It's hard come fall to switch to regular shoes!
I noticed you are starting after Labor day, which we usually do too, but this year I feel pressured to start earlier because of the baby coming mid year. What are your thoughts on this? My other babes have come in the summer or right before school started.
had to laugh at the part where you said about the kiddos not being able to feel baby yet, my Clare keeps putting her hand on my tummy hoping to feel the baby, and keeps asking if he/she's kicking right now?
Same as you, I can feel it, but they can't yet, soon….
Have a great time with your sister!
Hi Jessica,
It does look like you're going to have a great week.
We've had the "school age" kids enrolled through a charter school. But, I just pulled out my 9th grader, leaving 2 in. There are many benefits to being a part of a funded charter for home educating. A biggie is the very example of the tutor. We also have used the funds to provide a tutor for our son. A cost that couldn't be made easily w/o the help of the charter. But there are some challenges too.
I started to write down a list and realized I was going to take up way to much room on your comment page.
So if you like, I'm off to do a 'mini' post on my blog. Like Hubbie says, "you'll find any reason to post something" ;-).
It'll be there if you'd like to read my 2 cents on the subject.
Cant' wait to hear the news of pink or blue :-).
God bless!
Did you find out the baby's gender today?? That always makes me excited when somebody is about to possibly find out! 🙂
For comfortable shoes, my mom loves these shoes that are called SAS. Being in the third trimester, my feet have been aching after a long day, so she let me borrow a pair of her SAS sandals and after a day at a conference, my feet felt great! Now, she said they were pretty expensive, but I don't know exactly how much that means! She offered to buy me a pair when I was visiting her town, but unfortunately the store was closed! Buying shoes while pregnant is tricky, though… my feet seem bigger during pregnancy.
The charter school idea sounds neat… we don't have anything like that in my area. So they have funds available for homeschoolers to use towards their children's educations? That would be great! I always thought the local gov't should give us at least a small part of the amount they spend per student, because it's a crazy amount they spend! Homeschoolers could make that money go much farther, I bet! 😉
FYI Erin,
SAS are great shoes. They're made here in San Antonio. But they cost somewhere around $150 a pair, so I don't know that I'd buy them when your feet might not be your "normal" size.
Thanks for all the comments and suggestions! It has been such a busy couple days, I haven't had much time to come back and respond! 🙂
Jamie ~ I AM a little nervous about waiting until after Labor Day to start… In fact, last time, when I was pregnant with Rose, we started on August 17th… I wish we were starting now, but it just isn't possible. We have company this week, and plans the following week. Last year we started really late due to our remodel, and I had a toddler, which was almost harder than the year before when I had a new baby half way through the year. I think it will all be okay. At least, I hope so! 🙂 I feel much more organized this year, in regards to our curriculum, so hopefully it will all fall in place.
Elizabeth ~ Thanks for sharing your thoughts and experience! I will have to go and read your post!!
Erin ~ Thanks for the shoe suggestion. I will have to look into those for someday, though right now they sound a little too expensive. 🙂
I am hoping that since the baby is coming mid year, the kids will be able to just continue….wishful thinking?
It will all work out fine. For both of us!!
Two years ago, when Rose was born in Dec, we were able to "just continue" but at a much slower pace. The kids are two years older now though, so hopefully the older ones can be a little more self-motivated! Maybe! 🙂