Our Kind of Monday

Today, Monday, was our kind of day.

On this day we:

Played a couple rounds of CandyLand

Finally printed out and pasted the descriptions to go with Jack's art work from this past year

Flipped through the pages of the latest National Geographic

Addressed some invitations

And sent a postcard to Germany through our Postcrossing adventure

But I can't seem to make myself call this a good day. This day, like yesterday, was filled with tears. If it wasn't for these pictures, today would be nothing but a blur.

I'm devastated by the death of a former student. He was killed in a car crash early Sunday morning, and I've spent much of the time since sobbing and thinking of his parents and sisters.

His life was well lived, and in his short 23 years the impact he has left is unbelievable. There are so many things about him to read online, but I thought I'd let you hear from him in his own words. It's this article that shows his humor, love for his family and what a great man he truly was.

Love you Philip Lutzenkirchen. I'm so grateful to have had you as my student not once, but twice.

May God grant comfort and a peace that passes all understanding to the Lutzenkirchen family in the days ahead.

CSA Wednesday

On Wednesday we head to a local farm to pick up produce as part of a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program. Here's what we got today:

Eggs

Bell Pepper

Cherry Tomatoes

Onions

Cantaloupe - one of which is already gone!

Our Kind of Tuesday

Today, Tuesday, was a good day. Our kind of day.

On this day we:

Had some early morning fun with Nanny and the pup

Did some math in our pjs

Worked on the scenery for our puppet show

 

Made a green pig with Play-Doh

 

Enjoyed the view of my favorite plant in full bloom 

Tried out our newest polish

And because I've gotten into cooking whole chickens lately, I fixed this scrumptious one for dinner

And we did a lot of clapping for a girl that finally decided to user her potty and the decibel level of this house had to reach its highest level yet when two kids were having a ball with their puppy all afternoon. All the things that made today.

Our Kind of Wednesday

Yesterday, Wednesday, was a good day. Our kind of day.

On this day we:

Started with an early-morning rendition of Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf

Then followed that up with an early-morning walk in what can only be described as sweltering heat

Started collecting data for a muffin survey

Learned a bit about chipmunks

Read some spooky stories because we're suckers for them

Headed to the farm to pick up vegetables

Added check marks to our newly made chore chart

And climbed a tree to top it all off

And I may have exaggerated by saying it was a good day. Truth be told it was a tiring, frustrating, scolding sort of day. But we had dinner with some awesome friends and their awesome kids and made some memories. All the things that made yesterday.

CSA Wednesday

On Wednesday we head to a local farm to pick up produce as part of a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program. Here's what we got today:

Bell Pepper

Eggplant

Onions

Potatoes

Had I Known

Funny thing about having a dog.

Our house has been much tidier!

The kids know the new puppy will chew on toys left out, so they've been sure not to make their infamous messes while he's running around.  And it's amazing how quickly they can clean up these days when I say: "I'm going to get Sirius out of the crate."

Had I known that having a dog was going to teach this lesson much more effectively than I've ever been able to then I would have given in much sooner to their requests.

Ok, ok, so I had to pull a lego out of his mouth today, but other than that, we've had no major issues with choking on a toy. Yet.

One of the reasons I put off getting a dog, especially a puppy, was I felt I had enough on my plate. I didn't want to add to my daily to-do list. But this puppy is a real joy.

I didn't grow up with many pets. The animals we did have were kept outside, and, looking back, I can see we didn't treat them much like pets. I always heard people state how pets taught responsibility, but I associated that with feeding the animal and spending quality time with it more than anything else.

Having Sirius has also cut down on the children's morning TV time. Instead of asking to cut the TV on first thing in the morning or while I'm trying to fix breakfast, they are both busy playing with the dog. While I have no problems admitting we are a TV loving house, it's nice to see them channel their energy into something else at the start of the day.

Of course I'm partial, but anyone thinking about getting a dog should seriously consider a mini Australian Shepherd.

Our Kind of Thursday

Today, Thursday, was a good day. Our kind of day.

On this day we:

 

Made it to afternoon story time at the library

Stuck our head in a downtown store because our little artist's cupcake painting is on display

Posed by a random plastic thing-a-ma-jig just because

Strolled around the weekly farmer's market

Devoured sticky and messy cookies-and-cream popsicle bars

And we ran and we played, and we skipped naptime and we turned in early, and we kissed and we hugged and we walked a dog and we chatted with neighbors. All the things that made today.

CSA Wednesday

On Wednesday we head to a local farm to pick up produce as part of a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program. Here's what we got today:

Farm-fresh eggs

More onions

Finally, blueberries!

This is the first time in the three years we've done this that we've gotten potatoes

Cucumbers

Time for an Update

I loved our cornfield picture. It captured such a perfect moment in time for us.

But anyone who's followed this blog for any time knows that Mattie is no longer a baby.

And anyone with small children knows it's nearly impossible to get a decent shot of the entire family. Someone usually isn't looking, or better yet, someone is looking strange.

Professional pictures aren't part of the budget right now, so this past weekend, when Matt's sister got re-married, I asked his aunt to take a few shots from behind.

The setting was ideal, and something about us walking hand-in-hand, away from the camera, just felt like us!

Our Kind of Friday

Today, Friday, was a good day.  Our kind of day.

On this day we:

Had some early morning tug-of-war with the new puppy

Spent the day reading these insightful books by John J. Muth, whose art I am enamored with (I was actually hoping for the book that Cupcakes and Commentary posted about earlier in the week, but our library doesn't carry it)

And some Amelia Bedelia classics, which I read as a kid and was surprised by having no recollection of what an air-headed twit Amelia Bedelia really is - sorry, but there was no nice way to put that

Eating yellow tomatoes, because they were all sold out of red at the farmer's market yesterday, on a bacon and tomato sandwich that just screams summer

 Preparing supper with a summer storm brewing on the horizon

Painting balloons and popsicles

And it wouldn't be a normal day in our house without at least one picture of a shark

And we laughed and cried, and we played and hugged, and we yelled and prayed, and we said a few I love yous and a few leave me alones. All the things that made today.

CSA Wednesday

On Wednesday we head to a local farm to pick up produce as part of a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program. Here's what we got today:

Onions

Squash

Eggplant

Leeks - I have no idea what to do with these

Cucumbers