- I had big plans for this last day of February, but none of them happened! I did make my first sourdough bread-and possibly my last! Ha! No, I'll try again, but I the bread was pretty heavy and dense.
- It didn't take long to do though so I didn't feel like I had wasted my time. We did our school work this morning, and I tried to pull out school for next week. I have dreaded this every Thursday for the last 13 years-it doesn't take my nearly as long any more, but gracious it isn't my favorite thing to do. However, I do get excited when I see things that we are finishing up-Campbell and Graham both finished something up this week.
- After school, I did a few things around here, but then I left with the girls in the middle of the sleet storm. It was freezing and a bit nasty, but we still stopped at a few places. First Reagan tried on some shoes at a shoe store. Then we went to Walmart to buy things for Campbell's party. We then ran into the Dollar Tree but didn't find a thing there. And finally, we went to Academy where Keaton found some shoes.
- Campbell and Keaton spent a good deal of time decorating for Campbell's belated birthday party on Saturday. She has waited a long time for her party, so she is pretty excited about it.
- Back at home, I sat in my chair and read some. Robby and I went to Panda Express for supper-he had a shop to do. Then we picked up more food for the kids along with a pizza for Anderson. We all ate, and then I made chocolate chip cookies using a new recipe, and we will just add them to the growing list of things that I can not make.
- The kids are eating desserts while Keaton is doing some shopping for a party that she is going to go to this weekend. I am sitting here trying to decide if I would like to have some hot chocolate for my dessert or if I would like something cold!
February 29, 2024
February 28, 2024
- This Wednesday was kind of quiet. We woke up and did school-hmm, I think the only thing exciting was that I cleaned my earrings this morning! Ha! Things haven't been too exciting this week, and for that I am very thankful.
- Graham and Reagan went to work at noon, and around 2 Robby saw that Reagan had just completed a drive. I guess that they wanted Sonic while at work so she picked it up and delivered it to everyone. I hope they know how good of a job that they have-going and getting drinks on company time.
- The afternoon was kind of quiet-Campbell did drive me to Nonna's house, well, she drove me most of the way. Lawson still feels super busy, but she is improving and really, I should have let her drive home from the library.
- When we came home, I read for a bit and then had a shower before I left first for church. I don't need to be there early, but Campbell and Keaton feel the need to be there early. Graham came early too since he didn't want to come with Reagan who left 20 minutes later.
- Anderson and Campbell went to ChickFilA tonight after church, while the rest of us came home and had chicken taquitos for supper. After supper, the Wilsons came over for a few minutes, and we caught up.
- Now I am having hot chocolate waiting to do my second stretch and fold of my sourdough. I don't have high hopes for this little experiment, but we shall see!
February 27, 2024
- Whitman was the first one awake this morning, but I was fairly close behind him. I do believe that I heard him come down the stairs or into the kitchen; however, I didn't worry about him having fallen down the stairs though today.
- I let the big boys sleep for a little bit, but I woke up Keaton and Campbell so we could start on school. My thought was that if I let Anderson sleep some that would help heal his ankle. They do say sleep is good for so many things, and I guess it worked since he was able to play in the basketball game tonight.
- We did all of the school things, and I even had a chance to feed my sourdough starter this morning. I really still don't know what I am doing with it, but I did use some of the extra to make some crackers today. They were edible but not re-makeable. Tomorrow I am going to attempt to start the bread process.
- When Keaton finished school this morning she worked most of a puzzle. Campbell helped some and Anderson came along after lunch with them, and they all finished it together. I think that I am going to have to start looking for a bit larger piece puzzles since the ones we have borrowed from Grannyom are just taking them about an hour to do.
- Reagan had her class today where she gave her speech, and then she was home for a bit before she left again for work. She hadn't been home for too long before the rest of us left for the boys' last basketball game.
- We saw the "coach" from the other team warming up with his players; except imagine our surprise when their "coach" was just a player. While they lined up for tip off, Anderson walked over to the man and asked, "how old are you?" He said that he was 18, but he must have been an old 18-old enough to have a full beard!
- Thankfully, the other team was pretty pushy, but they were also pretty sloppy. We started the game up by 5, but soon were down by 10. However, our boys ended up winning by 2. Anderson took 2 charges knocking him on the ground each time. Both boys scored some points, and my favorite part was when Graham passed the ball to Anderson who scored. Our maybe my favorite part was when our shortest player, who is smaller than Keaton, was guarding the man sized player.
- When we came home, the boys showered and the rest of us caught up on our tv shows.
February 26, 2024
- It took me a while to fall asleep last night, so even though I woke up at a decent time this morning, I waited as long as I could until getting out of bed. Actually, Whitman woke me up this morning-or at least I thought it was him.
- I heard a pretty loud kerplunk which woke me up and made me think that he had fallen down the stairs. He is the early morning riser. I laid in bed for a while, but eventually I started to wonder if he was laying at the bottom of the steps so I went to check on him. He was curled up on the couch and had no idea what I was talking about. I should have gotten up then, but I ran back to the bed for a little bit longer.
- We then started on our school work. Whitman likes Mondays the best because he has 8 pages of math and can pick the easiest ones to do. Of course this method just saves the hard stuff for the end of the week, but today at least he was pleased that he had finished early.
- Once the kids kind of finished up, I started on a few of my chores. For lunch, I worked on my final Camp Geyer recipe-empanadas. I have made everything, taken notes, and worked on a list of ingredients needed. I still have to tweak some things, but I do have until June so I guess I have plenty of time. Even though I made those empanadas-Graham and Robby were the only ones who even tried them.
- This afternoon Reagan and Graham went to work, Whitman and I did spelling, Keaton made cake pops, and I took Bentley on a walk. When Graham and Reagan came home, all the kids but Reagan played football outside. That ended when Anderson sprained his ankle. Ugh, I don't think it is as bad as last time, but his last basketball game is tomorrow so I doubt that he will be playing in that.
- Robby made chicken pitas for supper tonight. After we ate, many of us had free milkshakes on our ChickFilA ap so we ran there and picked up tonight's dessert for everyone. Now, I'm back on the couch and am going to read for a little bit before bedtime.
February 25, 2024
- I felt like I was getting up a little bit earlier this Sunday morning, and I guess that I did; however, I was still scrambling around. Reagan zoomed in about 4 minutes before we left, and we all made it out the door about on time.
- Of course, us leaving on time now means that we are early to big church. The kids enjoy being able to have time to see their friends, and Robby and I enjoy getting to sit quietly for a few minutes before everything starts.
- After church, we all went to our Sunday school classes. We didn't have a ton of time this morning with just our little class, so that made it go by fairly quickly. Then we found all of our people and headed to Grannymom's house for her birthday lunch.
- Graham drove the suburban with Robby. He has his license and all, but he doesn't get many chances to drive. Of course, he did fine. At Grannymoms, we had pizza and oreo delight. Reagan left to go and check on Annie so Graham went back with her. The rest of us stayed a bit longer, and then headed home ourselves.
- At home, I did some research and a bit of panicking. I was gifted some sour dough starter today at church so I am trying to learn what to do with it! Soon though it was time for our people go their different places.
- Anderson and Graham left first to go to Rock Creek. Then Reagan left with Keaton-they each went to different life groups and thankfully Reagan was able to drop Keaton off. Then Robby and I took Campbell to her life group. Keaton and Campbell were just visiting different life groups tonight, but that did mean that Robby and I had to stay out the whole time to pick them both up.
- We didn't get home until after the boys, but I am glad that they all want to go to church things, and I am glad that we have a few different options for everyone. While Robby and I were out, we ran to Walmart and then we stopped to pick up some bread sticks at US Pizza. We used to eat those breadsticks all of the time, and they sure were good tonight.
- Now Reagan is the only one still out, and the rest of us have found our normal evening spots so the house is fairly quiet except for Graham occasionally screaming at his xbox.
February 24, 2024
- When Robby and I woke up this morning, we headed to Walmart so we both could do some shopping. I needed to buy things for my Operation Christmas Child boxes-yes, I'm doing those now. And Robby had some deals that he was picking up. He ran all over the store filling his cart while I ran over the store filling my cart-actually, no one's cart was full by any means, but we sure did our shopping separately.
- Then we went to Costco, and we did stay together there at least. Our first stop was for a chocolate chip cookie. We enjoyed that treat before moving on to try the samples. Now, we were surprised because almost all of the samples today were drinks-that wasn't any fun at all.
- We hurried home and had a bit of downtime before we all left again for Grannymom's birthday party. Grandpa's 80th birthday party was about 12 years ago, and I vividly remember Anderson crying because he didn't want to wear fancy clothes. (He had to wear kahki short and a polo, but spend a good bit of the party playing with his cousin in the dirt pile.) Twelve years later, I still had boys complaining about having to wear church clothes. (Anderson would want me to clarify him that he was not the one complaining today though.)
- Everyone looked nice though so it was worth their trouble (which wasn't really any). Grannymom's birthday party was at The Cove where we and all of her friends had coffee and yogurt. It was a great spot for a party, and Dana had everything perfect.
- After the party, Keaton, Campbell, Whitman, and I went to Academy. We found Whitman some shoes that fit-the cheaper pair didn't have the size that he needed so we ended up buying the more expensive pair.
- Then we had to wait in one certain line because we were also picking up shoes that Keaton had ordered. Our line went to slow-like we thought about just sitting down on the floor while we were waiting. We finally did get to the front, and Whitman's shoes were on sale so that was great.
- When we did get to the car, Keaton tried on her shoes, and they were so the wrong size so that was not great. She and I went into the store to just see if we could find the right size to order. We could not find the shoe anywhere in the store. I don't know how they had one last night there when we ordered it, but didn't have any there today. Did we buy the last shoe that looked just like that? Who knows?
- Anyway, she tried on another shoe so we do know her size. I decided when we got back to the car, that I should just return the shoes that we had just bought. I had originally thought that I would just wait until we bought new ones, but by this time I knew she was going to have trouble finding them again.
- So after my third trip into Academy, we finally headed home. By the time that we got home, Robby had already made pancakes, sausage, eggs and bacon for supper. The kids all ate, and then we headed to the boys' basketball game.
- Reagan is house sitting so she was down the road, so Whitman just stayed at home and skipped out on the games. Anderson and Graham's team is just consistent-they lose by about 2 every game. They played hard today, and both of them scored a few points, but gracious, their team just has some bad luck-but I think that they do have fun.
- People are showering now at home and finding snacks-I think that I could go right to bed, and I just might.!
February 23, 2024
- I slept quite a while this morning, and then I had to get up and start my daily chores. Now on Fridays I spice things up and do something fun between my regular chores. Honestly, my "fun" things probably don't sound fun to anyone else-but they are to me. Robby though does make fun of my because all of my fun things are usually things that don't really need to be done yet-like I was working on something for Christmas today.
- The kids were all slow to wake up this morning. Graham was the first one up because he usually takes a shower before going to work. Then as soon as I noticed Whitman, I did spelling with him. I did just do a little bit which made him happy.
- Now even though I was productive this morning, I really didn't do one of the main things on my list today-clean the kitchen. I have now decided that I am going to wait on the maid to come and do that for me or maybe a kid will do it. Ha! Anderson did take our little kitchen rug and shake it out outside today so maybe there is hope!
- Reagan and Graham went to work, and really no one did anything around here this afternoon. It was very quiet. Keaton did make a huge batch of cookies, and it took her a while to bake them all.
- This evening, Anderson, Campbell, Keaton, Robby, and I went to eat at Tacos for Life. We ran into Kroger first to buy more English muffins. Then we ate and picked up pizza for Graham and Whitman on the way home. Reagan had our Tacos for Life leftovers.
- Now, the big boys are playing basketball outside, Reagan just had a shower, Whitman is on the couch beside me, Campbell is in the bonus room, and Keaton is in her bedroom-it is turning out to be a pretty quiet Friday night.
February 22, 2024
- Keaton didn't feel great last night so I decided to let her and my other early morning learners sleep for a little bit longer. Whitman was already awake but I didn't make him start on his school work until 9 which was still earlier than usual.
- I then woke up Campbell at 9, but let Keaton sleep until 9:30. She is a little sniffly, but she has gone strong all day long so I think she definitely on the mend. Graham was up next, and Anderson had requested that I wake him up at 10 since he only had two things left of school to do today.
- We all finished school work, and then I left with Campbell and Keaton. I had a check up so I ran there while Keaton and Campbell stayed in the car. While those girls were sitting there, they joined a few rewards programs. When we left, we went to Kum and Go across the street where Campbell left with a free pizza and Keaton left with a free chocolate croissant.
- We then met up with Dana for some yogurt-this was the main reason that the girls came! Well, Keaton doesn't eat ice cream, so she just had me get her some candy on my ice cream. Then we ran to pick up a free coke for them before meeting Robby at Kroger for gas.
- After we left him, we went to Costco to pick up a chicken. I quietly came in the house and went to work on the soup that needed the chicken. I had to do it quietly because I didn't want Graham coming downstairs and eating all of my chicken.
- Reagan went to work while everyone else went outside to play some football. While they did that, I worked on giving Bentley a bath and a haircut. I wanted her to look nice since today is her gotcha day-we picked her up 3 years ago today.
- They came inside just before it rained. Anderson made some pudding, and we were about to play a game when Robby's Sam's order was ready. So Keaton, Robby, and I ran to Walmart and Sams. We made it home right after Reagan. I made grilled cheese for my non soup eaters (Anderson and Whitman) and the rest of us ate tonight's soup-it was like ChickFilA's chicken tortilla soup and was delicious.
- The big boys are outside playing now while I am looking at school for next year!
February 21, 2024
- It was a fairly normal morning for all of us. Whitman was awake before any of the rest of us, and Anderson and Graham woke up without any me having to wake them up a second time. We did our morning school work, and then people started making lunches and leaving for work.
- Reagan and Graham went to work, and Graham had to go to a photo shoot so he had to dress up a bit. Poor kid was stressed about what to wear and even had me pick out his shirt. He ended up looking super nice-maybe he should dress up a little more than just on Sundays.
- I had a shower and then soon this afternoon Robby and I left. We ran to Kroger to pick up one sale item, and then we went to our eye doctor's appointment. Years ago, we scheduled them at the same time, and they have been together ever since. Neither one of our prescriptions changed so that was a good thing.
- We then came home, and I did a few things but then it was time to leave for church. Reagan didn't have her dgroup tonight so she opted to go at the normal time which left Keaton and Campbell beside themselves because they wanted to arrive to church early. To help them out, I left at 5 (only about 10 minutes earlier than usual for me.) Anderson came with me and both of us sat in the car for a little bit before going into the church house.
- Everyone did church tonight, and then we all headed home-well, the ChickFilA crew headed there while the rest of us came home for English Muffin pizzas. Whitman wasn't to sure about the pizzas, since he had never heard the term English muffin.
- Now I'm cuddled up under my blanket watching a tv show because tomorrow is another busy day around here.
February 20, 2024
- This morning went by like most lately-chores, reading, school. Anderson, Graham, and I went to take their test so they can take concurrent classes in the fall. Anderson passed-I will say that he surprisingly passed because every time that he took a practice test, he did abysmally.
- I thought that Graham would pass, but his score was just 3 points from what he needs to pass so if he would have gotten one more question correct, he probably would have passed. I was super pleased that Graham was so close. I have already scheduled the test again for in two weeks-we don't have time to delay because as soon as he finishes this test, he has to take the math portion.
- When I came home, quite a few of us played a game-Whitman picked out his favorite game Dope or Nope. As we played, I organized the battery boxes. Then I walked the dog for a bit before settling into my chair to read some.
- Keaton did make a cheese cake this afternoon so that will be our evening dessert. Reagan was at work this afternoon when all the other kids went out to play football for a long while. I am always surprised that Whitman willingly goes outside to play football. Anderson is really good at including him though.
- For supper tonight, we had a pasta dish-Reagan made it home early so we all ate together. Whitman and Campbell are excited tonight because some of our new shows will be on the tv-but unfortunately, we will have to deal with commercials which I know will disappoint Campbell!
February 19, 2024
- It was a little bit difficult for me to get out of the bed this Monday morning. However, I knew that I had just half a load of laundry to fold since I had done it all last night, and I didn't have any dishes to empty from the dishwasher so I still was able to start school pretty much on time.
- I read with the littles and then woke up the boys so they could start on their school work. Tomorrow they have the Accuplacer test-Anderson has writing while Graham has reading. I'm actually not looking forward to seeing their scores. That is okay though because they have plenty of time to take this test (They need it to take concurrent classes in the fall.) We have been practicing, but I'm just not sure what exactly is going to happen.
- After we finished school, I had Whitman and Keaton help me make chocolate chip biscuits. I think that they turned out pretty good, but I will try again. They are one of my "resolution recipes"-a recipe that I want to figure out how to make and make well. I only have 4 recipes to work on and hope that I have enough time to figure at least some of them out.
- We then delivered two of those biscuits plus Pops' sock of the month to Nonna and Pops' house. Campbell drove us most of the way there. She did really pretty good, but she was happy to drive the speed limit today. It is odd that when she is going near the speed limit, it feels like we are flying, but when I drove home I noticed that I exceed the speed limit and don't feel terrified!
- Once we came home, I helped Reagan with her speech for a little bit and then I wrote down a list of about 20 different hikes in Arkansas hikes that I would like to take.
- Reagan and Graham tried to go to work, but their bosses were sick so they weren't able to work. Anderson did work at Raymar for about an hour this afternoon. We picked up supper at ChickFilA since if we ordered something on the app, then you eventually get a free milkshake. We, yep, all 7 of us ordered something even though Anderson isn't eating ice cream and Keaton doesn't like ice cream-at least one of us will eat that milkshake.
- Now, I'm sitting on the couch and am about to begin another book, but otherwise it is pretty quiet around here tonight.
February 18, 2024
- It is certainly nice when all of my little chicks are back in the nest. Everyone is home tonight which makes me happy. Now, I am not sure how well Whitman is liking having to share his bedroom again though.
- I worked in worship care this morning-there was a tiny visitor baby that wasn't too happy so I spent the whole time in the hallway bouncing the baby. It did make things go by quickly for sure. Then it was on to Sunday school where we had people crying about lollipops! There weren't a ton of first graders so that also made Sunday school fly be quickly.
- Robby had already seen our Big Chill kids and helpers. Reagan and Campbell did the offering up in his section. We found everyone and then all headed to Nonna's house for our Sunday lunch. They had ham and cheese croissants which was requested by Keaton or Campbell. We ate over there, and then we didn't stay too long because my crew needed a nap.
- Everyone in this house, except for Whitman, went right to sleep this afternoon. Graham, Keaton, and Campbell intended to go to Rock Creek tonight, but they were all too tired to do that so they stayed home. I had my nap too, but I also worked on 3 loads of laundry.
- We then ate our Sunday night supper at the Wilson's house. The kids stayed for a little bit, but they soon headed back home leaving the adults time to visit. We came home a bit early so I could work on some more laundry before putting these people in bed-they are exhausted and some of them are quiet grumpy!
February 17, 2024
- Let's see, for a fairly non productive Saturday, Robby and I have been busy. When we did wake up, Whitman was still asleep. He eventually came downstairs-not too long ago he slept in his room by himself for the first time, and last night was probably the first time that he slept upstairs without any other siblings up there. You are rarely alone when you are the sixth.
- Robby and I left him alone for some errands-first we walked around Costco and bought a few things-sweatpants for the big boys, bread, and dried strawberries because they were on sale (Whit and I didn't like them so here's hoping that the girls do.)
- Then Robby dropped me off at the library-since the library's system has been hacked, I can't do by interlibrary loan where they pick the books up for me and take them to my library. So last night I wrote down all the books I needed/wanted, and then made a list of what library they were at and their location in the library.
- Robby went to Kroger to do some shopping-now, he found his hobby today. His shopping consisted of buying a variety of items to get the deals. Some things were free, some things made money, and some just cost a little bit. It was a game to him, and he was pleased that everything worked.
- I knew I would be at the library for a while, but with my notes I didn't have any problems finding the books that I needed. Then I started just looking for fun books. Soon my basket was so heavy, that I would just have to set it down on the floor instead of hold it.
- We then ran home for a little bit where I read some and Robby worked on another round of deals. Later in the afternoon we went to Walmart. I took off with my buggy and he went the other way with his. I am going to a favorite things party so I had to find some of my favorite things-that was super fun. My budget was small-but I went over a bit! Shh!
- Robby was on the other side of the store finding his deals so it was fine that I went over. We then had to hurry so we could get to another library for me to go in and pick up books there. They did give me the stink eye when I walked in 10 minutes before they closed. I just had 3 books to grab and walked right to them all so I was out in plenty of time.
- Then we picked up pizza for the boy and headed home. Robby had to work on his receipts so he did that after we ate. In the past 11 days we have had 22 mystery shops to the same fast food place so having pizza was a treat!
- Whitman has had his Saturday night shower, and I will probably have my Saturday night ice cream pretty soon.
- I have heard nothing from the other kids today. Graham did text me around 12:20 and said that they were just leaving the church house. His group stayed and played a nerf gun war with the boys that were spending the night at the church.
- Reagan is staying at a house on Lawson, Keaton and Anderson are at two different houses but are almost right next door to each other. I did see a picture that Keaton's group worked at a school today for her service project. But other than that, there have been few pictures and few reports. I was able to snag a few pictures today from last weeks Life Group Weekend at Rock Creek.
February 16, 2024
- Fridays are a lot slower around here, but I did pretty much complete my list by lunch time. I even took Bentley on a walk so early in the day that she had a bit too much energy for me and almost pulled my arm out of the socket!
- I did work with Whitman a minute on spelling today-and I have even been having him do a 6th grade math page from another homeschool program each day. It was free plus it sure won't hurt.
- Reagan and Graham headed off to work and were home about 12 minutes later. Reagan didn't read a text from early this morning saying that didn't have to come in today because everyone was gone. I'm not sure they found this as comical as I did, but it was good for both of them because it made them get up and finish all of their things before they did leave for work.
- The other three spent their afternoon packing and getting ready for Big Chill. This was Keaton's first and Campbell's last. They meet together at church throughout the weekend but stay at people's houses. Reagan and Anderson are working with the middle schoolers as leaders while Graham's grade is a part of the production team for the event.
- That just means that Whitman is here with us this weekend. He does stay by himself some, but really a sixth child is rarely alone. Robby had a few mystery shops tonight-3 fast food ones and one dinner that we went to tonight, but since all of the others were going to be gone, Whit hung out Grannymom and Grandpa tonight while we ran our errands.
- The kids made it to church tonight and are still there. I'll track all of them later (well, the big 3 because Campbell and Keaton can't have their phones). Robby is doing some work while Whitman is enjoying his Sonic drink-perks of being an only child. And I think that I am going to try to read some of my book-except it is a little bit dark in here so I might have to have Whitman turn on the lights for me-the downfall of being the only child!
February 15, 2024
- We did our morning thing this morning with everyone working on their school work. Thursdays are always a little bit more hectic for me because I also pull out everyone's school work for next week.
- This is the first week that the library's internet problems has messed us up. I plan ahead about 2 weeks and request books from the library, but there internet has been done for at least that long so I haven't been getting my requested books. This affected my reading, but today I realized that this is going to mess up next week's school some as well. Things like that just make me crazy!
- Maybe because I was pulling out school work today, I somehow finished my things later than usual. Keaton and Campbell were even waiting on me for us to leave this afternoon. Campbell drove me us to Dollar General. She did pretty good-actually, very good for not having driven in a long while. Really anytime that I don't have to scream, hold on, or reach for the steering wheel, I consider it a good drive.
- We then went to Bath and Body Works because I had some coupons expiring. Campbell and Keaton had gift cards-they bought themselves candles while I used my coupons to buy a hostess gift for someone.
- We then hurried home, and I debated working on my list. However, I opted to read for a bit. Robby had a work supper that he went to, so Whitman and I made a second batch of cookies to test them out for Camp Geyer. I needed a cookie recipe that just makes one cookie-and today we found the winner. It is using tiny amounts of everything: 1/8 tsp baking soda, 1/4 tsp milk-but it worked and was delicious!
- Then I used the leftover empanada filling that we had made for the Super Bowl to make taquitos for everyone. I forget that Reagan was at work so the kids ate them all so I had to make her one with refried beans and cheese, but she also supplemented that with some leftover pasta.
- The boys had a basketball game at 9 tonight-they lost once again, but for the third game, they were just one point from winning. It was a fun game and our cheering section is always large.
- Everyone around here is busy packing for the weekend-I have to get 5 sleeping bags from the camper in the morning so folks can finish packing!
February 14, 2024-Happy Valentine's Day
- This morning when everyone woke up their Valentine's gifts were laid out on the table. Everyone had candy plus the three big kids had some money while the three littles had a gift-one they had picked out (Campbell a boot for her water bottle, Keaton mascara, and Whitman had magnets).
- Robby even had laid out my calendar on the table by all of the gifts. I get a calendar every year since they end in February. He got his fancy gift of two lemonhead boxes as well.
- We did our school work this morning. Graham did come in the house after I thought that they had left for work-Robby had the suburban and was headed back so they had to wait a minute on him. She didn't mind though since today was her Sonic drink day.
- I walked Bentley before I did spelling with Whitman today-changing it up a little bit! Today's big afternoon activity for me was having Anderson, Keaton, and Whitman help me sample a recipe for Camp Geyer. It was just chocolate chip cookies, but they are individual cookies. This recipe won't work to make with 30 kiddos because in needs an egg yolk which we could prepare before hand, but it is also too much. I have found another recipe that we will try maybe tomorrow.
- When Reagan and Graham made it home from their work, she left again with Campbell and Keaton. She leads a D group before church, but Campbell and Keaton just like to be there early to hang out. The boys and I left a little bit later-I actually took a shower and lost track of time so I had to scurry around getting myself ready.
- Church was wild tonight with lots of activities, but that is a good thing because it makes the evening go by quickly. Campbell, Keaton, and Anderson went to ChickFilA afterwards tonight while the rest of us came home to eat some pasta that Robby had ready for us.
- Now I'm on the couch and don't plan to move for a good little bit!
February 13, 2024
- Robby spent the day in Conway today so he left while we were working on our school work. I have determined that I am much more productive when he is not in the house, though I did start school a few minutes later today.
- I made sure that I was able to get that silly laundry folded before we started school. I did let the big boys sleep until 9:30, but the other 3 were reading with me by 8:40. Now, Reagan, she doesn't really stir until 11ish, and today she even skipped her class (don't worry, she doesn't really have to be there, but after this lazy semester, she might have a hard time adjusting to real classes in college.)
- We did the school thing, but Graham and I had to leave around 11:30 to go to his last orthodontist appointment. Afterwards, I ran by Walmart to buy Valentine's candy for the kids and then I went to the library and was able to check out a few books-I'm so relieved to again have a stack of books by my bed.
- Once at home, I did a bit of school work with Whitman (spelling), Graham (math), and Reagan (speech). None of that took too long, well, Reagan and I could have worked longer on her things, but she had to leave for work.
- After she left, I took Bentley on a walk and the rest of the kids here played football outside. Later in the afternoon some of us played a game. Robby eventually made it home but he had a few shops on the way so he had supper for us plus some doughnuts so that was a treat for everyone.
- He and I then ran to Kroger to pick up a few things-and to buy some more valentine candy for people-I should have made a better list when I went to Walmart though in my defense I didn't know that I was expected to buy treats for the day for Valentine's day.
February 12, 2024
- I didn't sleep well last night so I was a bit sluggish getting up, but Whitman sure was not. He was downstairs sitting in front of the heater before I even walked through with my laundry. I was able to hurry through my early chores and start school on time.
- I had thought that I had to go with Robby late this morning when he had to take the white van for new tires so that is the reason I was scurrying through my morning chores. I felt like I was given my morning back when I found out that he wasn't planning for me to go with him.
- We did our school work this morning. I find it interesting that Whitman sets a time goal for himself and then tries his best to finish his school work by then. Today's math was easier for him so that did help.
- Even though he was done early, he never wants to do spelling with me until after lunch though. So today we didn't get much done because Robby was on his way home with Whitman's mystery shop lunch so I had to cut my spelling tasks short when his lunch arrived.
- Graham and Reagan went back to work today after a pretty long break. I think that they were glad to be back at work-I know that Graham was since he has his eye on a few things to buy. This afternoon I was pretty useless-I had intended to take Bentley on a walk, but it was so dark and dreary out that I didn't.
- I ended up playing a game with Keaton, Campbell, and Anderson right before Reagan and Graham came home. Then we pulled out the leftovers and everyone ate supper-we were able to get rid of a few of our leftover pans, but not too many! Maybe tomorrow.
- Robby and I are now on the couch watching our show while I am searching for school books to buy for next year.
February 11, 2024
- We planned on leaving for church early again today so everyone could find their seats; however, it was not easy for sure. We were a bit later loading up, but when I came outside Robby was trying to jump the white van while some of the kids were in the van and others were milling around trying to figure out what to do.
- I waited to get in the car until he had successfully jumped the white van. That is when I noticed his tire light was on. I looked out my mirror and could tell that the back tired looked funny, so I climbed out and compared it to the other tire-yep, it was low. I said something, and after Robby saw it he called for everyone to move to the brown van.
- We did all of this quickly and were soon on our way to church. Whitman and Keaton sat up with us-Keaton couldn't get any friends to come and sit down in the front with her so we were her second choice.
- Campbell, who is my faithful blog reader, was a little chatty down front this morning. Of course, Robby and I tried to give her the evil eye, and she even received a warning text from me. Now Campbell knows that her mom and dad would certainly join her down in the front in the middle of the sermon if needed.
- She is also the child that told Robby that we were poor. He asked why, and she replied, "because we have ads on netflix."
- Whitman stayed after church and had pizza with his lifegroup. They also painted pottery-he painted a fox. Robby picked him up, and he told Robby on the way home that people kept asking him "chiefs or 49ers?" Whitman could care less anything about sports so he didn't have an answer for that question.
- We went to Grannymom's house for lunch. Then we hurried home so Robby could pick up Whitman while I went to work on making a few things for our Super Bowl party.
- Reagan went to her life group tonight for their Super Bowl party while Keaton, Campbell, Anderson, and Graham all went to Rock Creek for their Super Bowl party.
- Meanwhile, back at the house we ended up with quite the party spread here. We had chips and salsa, buffalo dip, pigs in the blanket, ham and cheese sliders, empandas, spirals, back crackers, a chocolate trifle, sugar cookies, popcorn, and pretzels. We watched the game and visited during most of it.
- Keaton received a 15 dollar Taco Bell gift card because someone didn't want theirs. And Graham won the dodge ball tournament and won a $100 gift card. So they all came home happy, but even though they had lots of food, they all came in and had some more of our leftover party food.
- Reagan was the last one home tonight, and there were lots of stories to hear before we were able to get everyone in bed, and I think that everyone did have a good time.
February 10, 2024
- Robby and I stayed in bed as long as we could this morning. Actually, I should have gotten up earlier so I would have had time to work on my cookies, but I didn't. It all worked out well because we ran our errands right after we did get up.
- Our first stop was Costco where we looked for something for Reagan's Sunday school class for breakfast. The original plan was to get a breakfast platter from Sams, but they were out yesterday. After looking at Costco and coming up empty, we decided to run back by Sams again with no luck.
- We eventually went to Walmart and found Reagan some breakfast to take-not only did we buy breakfast, but we also bought a platter!
- We ran to Kohls for a return along with Kroger for milk. Plus Robby had a mystery shop so we took lunch to Graham. It was quite a few stops, but we did it fairly quickly.
- Once at home, Campbell helped me cut out the sugar cookies. There wasn't much time left until Reagan, Anderson, Graham and I headed to their basketball game. Now, we knew they were playing the number 1 team tonight, but we had no idea how well our boys would do. We lost by 5ish, but it was a great game to watch. They stuck so close most of the game and had the other team sweating.
- While we were there, Robby took Campbell and Keaton to Rock Creek for tonight's Life Group Weekend. Reagan skipped out tonight since all of the girls her age were going to be gone. The boys came home, grabbed a piece of pizza, took a shower and headed out for Rock Creek.
- I started icing the sugar cookies and then stopped to write blog. Now Reagan and I are going to finish the cookies and then I don't plan on leaving the couch for the rest of the evening.
February 9, 2024
- This was kind of a slow day for me-the last few Fridays, I haven't had much to do since we are done with school. Just typing that caused me to stop and ask Anderson and Graham if they actually did their last little bit of school today. (I doubt they remembered, and I sure didn't even remember to remind them.)
- My plan today was to finish three things from my list and then sit down and read some. I know I've mentioned it before but the silly library system's internet is down-no checking out books. I'm almost in crisis mode around here! Tomorrow I may have to find a different hobby like cleaning! Ugh!
- I made some sugar cookie dough for Sunday night and worked on some school things for Reagan, but other than the day went by quickly. Reagan left to run to Sonic with some friends in the late afternoon.
- When she came home, Anderson, Graham, Campbell, and Keaton were waiting in the car for her. She changed shirts and grabbed her Bible, and they headed to Rock Creek for Life Group weekend. I think that they all had fun this evening, and they all came in chatty so that is always a good sign.
- While they were gone, Robby, Whitman, and I ran to Hobby Lobby, Sams, and Crumble-we picked up the Wilsons while we were out, and they came back to our house to eat some cookies with us for a bit.
- Now, Robby and I are watching a show and I'm doing a little bit of online shopping.
February 8, 2024
- Robby left early this morning to go to his dgroup with some friends. I was awake when he left and probably should have gotten out of bed then or at least when my alarm went off the first or second time, but man, it sure was difficult.
- I did get up in time to get the morning going; however, I didn't get the laundry folded so that had to be done during school. This put me behind so I was still pulling out school for next week around 1. I was the last one done with school today for sure.
- Robby and I left with Reagan to get gas in the mini van and suburban on her way to work. While we were gone, everyone else went outside to play football for a bit. Keaton, who has another slightly sprained ankle, and Graham's team won. Anderson did run right into Whitman and tried to catch him as he fell. Whitman's version was that Anderson knocked him down and drug him one he had fallen. I am not sure Whitman was much fun after that because he then said his vision was going in and out. (That sounds a bit concerning, but he's all good.)
- Robby and I walked around Costco after getting him gas. He needed some new pants, and we racked up on new things that wont' fall off of him. They had a few sales so that helped. They also had quite a few samples today-though the sample of seaweed salad is one that I wish I did not take. I was just trying to be polite, but I had to resist the urge to spit it out in the trashcan. It tasted like pickled grass.
- Back at home, Campbell, Keaton, Anderson, and I played Code Names. I believe that we tied-that is a pretty fun game, and we are definitely getting a little bit quicker at it.
- We had started supper late thinking that Reagan would be home, but she was a bit late so we ate with out her. Today she started going in a 3:30 until 6:30, but they have asked her to start coming 4:30 until 7:30. I guess that is what she will start doing-it does help on her quick turnaround after school.
- After supper, the kids all disappeared, and now I may try to read some of my book. (Library report-their system was still down today when Robby drove by on his way home. This is the second full day that we know of that they haven't been able to check books out at least from their book locker. My book situation is getting serious so hopefully it will all be working tomorrow!)
February 7, 2024
- On Wednesdays it is super hard for me to get up because I feel like we are in a rut and constantly doing the same thing over and over (we are.) Now, tomorrow should be easier to get up because I know that it is the last day of school which makes me happy.
- This was a good school day though. Graham and Reagan haven't had work in a few days so that gives him plenty of time to get his school work done which he enjoys. My big boys are getting better at writing for sure this semester, and I am already planning things for the fall for everyone. Reagan doesn't do much with me for school anymore, but it will be different without her here.
- I snuck even more work into Whitman's pile today-he, he! Don't tell him though because he still finished early. I have a pile of extra things that I want for him to work on, and I'm just stubborn enough to make sure that it all gets done.
- I actually ended up next to Whitman on the couch for a little bit today. He was so cuddly that I could have taken a nap if he didn't get up and leave. Well, then I actually did end up taking a nap there for a bit. I then had to hurry to take Bentley on a walk and then have a shower before church.
- I'm not sure what exactly happened, but I was drying my hair and only had 10 minutes to go before we needed to leave. We weren't able to go to the library today because their system is down, and I wouldn't be able to check out my books from the book locker-that is getting scary because I only have one book left.
- We all did the church thing tonight, and Campbell and Anderson went to ChickFilA on the way home, but Robby had pizza ready for the rest of us. We are now watching tv while I'm working on things for next school year.
February 6, 2024
- I had the little three up early this morning so we could do our reading together. When we finished reading, I jumped up to make sure that the big boys were and imagine my surprise to see that both Anderson and Graham were awake already.
- Reagan only has one class on Tuesdays, but she skipped it today. And she also skipped work since she thought she was going to have to be on a phone call for school-I think she is enjoying a lighter schedule this semester.
- Whitman finished his school work around 11:30 so once he his done with school, then so am I. Anderson and Graham still had a little bit left to do, but I don't have to sit around and help them. Though poor Whitman, he didn't even realize that I made him do 2 extra things today-I'm going to catch this boy up! He is already getting so much better in handwriting and spelling, now I just have to increase his speed in math.
- I did some reading while I ate my lunch. Then I helped Graham make breakfast quesadillas for his supper. I guess that I need to make some more breakfast burritos because we are all out of the ones in the freezer.
- After lunch the kids started on chores, and I walked Bentley. When I came home, everyone but Reagan were heading outside for a game of football. I am not sure how long it lasted because I read for a bit and then couldn't keep my eyes opened.
- When the came in, Campbell, Keaton, Whitman, Reagan, and I played a game for a few minutes. Then I started on supper-I tried an air fryer chicken thing which was good but possibly overdone.
- Robby and I then ran to Walmart to pick up Keaton's walmart order. Then we went on to Kroger to buy a few things..including some Ben and Jerry's ice cream for us! Shhh! Don't tell the kids!
February 5, 2024
- I waited until the very last minute to wake up this morning since I knew I didn't have any dishes to unload from the dishwasher. It is rare, but some Sundays I get lucky, and we use hardly any dishes. Yesterday was one of those days so I had 5 extra minutes of sleep this morning.
- Now, since we didn't use many dishes yesterday, we did use a lot of clothes. I am not really sure how that works, but that is how it was today: so, so many clothes to fold.
- We did the school thing this morning, and Whitman finished fairly early so I was able to move on to some of my things to do. He did start the area and circumference of a circle in math so that slowed him down some-though I did let him use a calculator on half of the problems.
- I walked Bentley this afternoon, and soon afterwards Reagan came home from her thing at Ouachita. She had fun: they put together a prothetic hand, bought a sweatshirt, did a case study about something about Mt. Everest, and even took pictures of a dorm room to help in the fall.
- After heating about her visit, the boys, Robby, and I went to get our hair cut. Well, Robby didn't get his hair cut, but the rest of us did. Then we had a few stops on the way home-ha!
- stop 1: Freddys-for Graham to go to the bathroom and for me to pick up a free birthday ice cream.
- stop 2: Sonic-mystery shop (Anderson supper)
- stop 3: Burger King-used a coupon to buy a few of us food (Whitman and me supper)
- stop 4: Sonic-mystery shop (Graham supper)
- stop 5: McDonalds-food for the rest of us (Robby, Campbell, and Keaton supper) (If you are keeping count, Reagan didn't want any thing for supper).
- I passed on stop 6-running to the library to pick up some books. I have some more coming so I will pick them up when the others arrive. So, it did take quite a while for us to get home-so long that once we made it, I had myself a nap. Well, if you can count a 10 minute nap as an actual nap.
- Campbell had made cookies while we were gone, and now we are watching a show before it is bedtime.
February 4, 2024
- This was the second Sunday in the remodeled worship center. We again left the house early so we could get decent seats-Robby, Whitman, and I sit together and really there is room where we are, so that isn't a concern. However, the others all sit down near the front with their buddies.
- When we got there, Reagan sat down and claimed her seats and Keaton sat behind her. Graham eventually settled in a row in front of Reagan, and Campbell and her buddies had saved their seats and gone to the coffee shop before church so they had seats when the showed back up.
- Anderson and his buddies were standing around talking, so when it was nearing time to sit down I could see them all looking around trying to decide where to sit. Eventually, the snagged a row in another section. Now, Keaton was still sitting all alone waiting on her buddies to show. It was after the first or second song though that one of her friends did show up.
- Most of us went to Nonna and Pops' house after Sunday school was over. They had hamburgers and all of the things. I even took burgers home for the boys-Graham had his as he was walking out the door on his way to Rock Creek later in the evening.
- After Sunday school, the big boys headed to their basketball practice. They practiced for 2 hours and even stopped for drinks on their way home. It wasn't long after they made it home, that Reagan left. She is spending the night at Ouachita for a Leadership conference. It looked like they had a busy schedule even making a prosthetic arm. However, when I asked her earlier in the evening how it was going, she said the speaker right then was long!
- I read a little bit this afternoon with all of the comings and goings, but I also was able to snag a short nap. Soon though Anderson, Graham, Campbell, and Keaton all left for Rock Creek this evening. They were there early to hang out and even stayed a little bit late.
- Whitman, Robby, and I went to the Wilsons ate ate supper. About the time that we were finished, the rest of our Rock Creekers showed up and ate as well. They soon left, while we stayed around chatting until it was time to come home and get ready for Monday.
February 3, 2023
- The girls informed me this morning that I neglected to even mention going to walk a trail in yesterday's blog. I want to walk 12 trails this year, so yesterday I asked who wanted to go with me, and surprisingly, I had a few takers.
- Reagan went because Bentley was going, Graham and Keaton never want to miss a party so they went as well, and Whitman went with us because I told me that he could skip spelling if he went.
- We walked the longest (2 miles) trail at Wildwood-it was a neat little trail in the middle of the woods. We did have to go over some water, but we made it.
- We actually had quite a bit of fun, and I want to return to walk the rest of the trails there. Bentley did get into some ticks, but we brushed her really well when we came home so hopefully I got all of them off of her so they don't end up on us.
- Back to today, I slept as late as I could this morning. Then Keaton, Campbell, Robby and I ran to do another mystery shop. Today, our food was decent, but not super exciting. When we did leave, Robby told the girls that we could walk around Walmart.
- He also told them about an app where you could scan things and earn points to earn a gift card. So we spent over an hour at Walmart scanning items. We ended up finding lawnchairs on sale along with a blanket so I think that we all did leave pleased.
- Once home, I read some more of my book, and eventually had a short nap. Robby made cookies, and Reagan and Kennedy left for a birthday party. Now, most people have had showers and/or supper, and Robby has turned on a tv show for us to watch.
February 2, 2024
- I spent most of my morning sewing a sweater-Reagan has a sweater that is pretty long so she asked me the other night if I would be able to shorten it. After a little bit of research I determined that it is possibly to cut and resew together a sweater.
- The plan was to be able to sew it all back together with the sewing machine-that didn't work for me. I have a different foot on my sewing machine now, but also sweater fabric may be more difficult to sew.
- Anyway, I only tried on the sewing machine once before decided that sewing it by hand wasn't too difficult. I would sew until my string ran out, and then take a break and come back for more. Once that was done, I felt that it really needed me to do another stitch around it again just for good measure.
- This was all good, and I think it will work. However, the sweater is still really fraying-now, I don't know if it will just a little bit and then stop or if it will continue to fray, so today when we were out, I bought some no fray stuff which I am trying on a spot tonight.
- If that works or if it doesn't, I still think that overall, I did a decent job, and the sweater is wearable. Now, the band of the sweater which we moved up was smaller than the place where we moved it, so it is pretty gathered there which might be different for her.
- Just like my blog so far has just been about the sweater, my days the last few days have been all about the sweater. Hopefully tomorrow, the fray stuff will be deemed a success so I can do it all over the sweater and most importantly be done with the project.
- Around noon Campbell decided to make a breakfast casserole. Robby had a mystery shop, so we went to eat BBQ, and I ran into Hobby Lobby to get the sweater fraying stuff (see, it has been all about the sweater).
- We also ran to Sams to pick up a few of their monthly deals. Later tonight we ran some errands with the Wilsons and ended up at Costco to pick up their monthly deals. We also stopped at Kroger, Target, Crumble, Chickfila, and Whataburger. We were picking up the kids suppers so they were some pretty hungry people by the time that we did get home tonight.
- The Wilsons stayed for a bit and visited. When they went home, Graham, Keaton, and I watched the end of a basketball game while Robby worked on his mystery shop report.
February 1, 2024
- On this very first day of February, we did our last day of school for the week-well, kind of. All of the boys have a little bit of school to do tomorrow. I didn't give them school for tomorrow; they just didn't get it all done this week, but that is what our Fridays are for.
- We didn't have a lot of reading to do this morning, so we were finished with that early. I did eventually just go upstairs and stare at Anderson until he got out of his bed. Graham had already made himself eggs this morning before he started his school work.
- Everyone did their school work while I pulled out school for next week. That is a task that never seems to end-oh, it is less each year, but still I shuffle a lot of papers getting things ready for each week.
- I spent a good deal of the afternoon reading. I did take Bentley on a walk, and I made cinnamon bread with Whitman. It is a recipe that I make at least once a year. It is good and all, but really the top is what is good while the rest is not really that good.
- Reagan was the only one that left the house during the day-she had class and then she had work. The big boys had a basketball game tonight, so Keaton and Whitman joined us to watch that game.
- Those boys came back and almost won this game as well. They just lost by 1, and Graham made a three so that was fun for him. I think this was their highest scoring game.
- We came home and settled on the couch to watch a little bit of tv before bed. Campbell joined us watching our show tonight; I think that she has watched all the tv that she can today since one of her tv shows released a new series today.
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