First Day of School

This was the week. I sent Miss Peachy off to her first day of first grade, also her first full day of school, yesterday. And today was Cream's first day of four year old preschool. (Ironically, she doesn't turn four until this weekend.)

Yesterday was much more of an emotional day for me than I would have guessed. How on earth did our baby turn into a six year old first grader already?! Knowing that Peachy would be spending seven waking hours five days a week away from our house hit me hard. It will be great for her. She loves to learn and was so excited to be going into first grade where she would have more learning time.

And I know that the rest of us will adjust to the new schedule soon as well. I think that saying good bye to our carefree summer days is part of my struggle. There is nothing I like better than taking our time getting ready in the morning. Letting the kids play together in their pajamas. Just being together without having to rush around. Ah, the days are fleeting.

And Miss Cream is entering the world of school, too. She will be attending the same school as her sister three mornings a week. You may recall that we didn't send Peachy to preschool at all. It was what worked for her and our family at the time. I really struggled with the decision on whether to send Cream or not. In the end, I think that it boiled down to guilt. I think that I felt that I was pushing her out of the house, hurrying her growing up. However, in the end I let that go and realized that she would enjoy preschool and benefit from it. And frankly, I would benefit from her attending. I also told myself that if it isn't working out we can always keep her home and try again next year.

So, three mornings a week I have Mr. Shortcake to myself. I really am looking forward to being able to run errands with only one child in tow. (One child who can ride in the cart! And who doesn't ask to look at toys!) I am not sure that having one child at home will actually give me more free time. After all, two of Shortcake's best toys are gone now! But I think we will enjoy our time together and the girls will enjoy their time together and appreciate all being home together more as well.

Shortcake 18 months!

This little man celebrates his 1.5 year birthday today!! It is so hard to believe how much he has grown in the last 18 months. From our sweet and gentle little babe in arms to our sweet and adventuring little man. There is just something about this little man that grabs tight at my heart. He is a perfect mix of sweet and energy.

Since he mastered the art of walking after his first birthday, there is no slowing him down. He is determined to see the world and learn all about it (mainly through the sense of touch and taste.)
He is also a great communicator. Through words and signs he gets his point across the majority of the time.

While his sisters really do love him, I hear repeatedly to "keep him away from our stuff!!" Just doing his best at being a little brother. He loves them as well and is so eager to join in on their play and fun.
We are so blessed to call Shortcake our own. We praise the Lord for adding him to our family!

**All photos taken by Home Grown Photography**

Six Years

As I was pushing Shortcake the other day, it dawned on me that I have been pushing this very stroller for over 6 years now. I am still amazed at the wonderful blessings the Lord has given us in each of our children.

Life At KBO

Seriously, this has been such a quick summer, you guys! I can't believe that we are almost to August. Peachy and Cream keep reminding me how quickly school is starting. Eeek. A friend recently said that it feels like they just got into the swing of summer and now we have to start thinking about getting into the school routine.

Peachy took swimming lessons this month. She did a good job, but did not get promoted. She needs to work on her strokes. I am still proud of how far she has come. I can't decide if I want to sign up for a fall session or not. I guess we will see when the schedule comes out.

The girls each finished their reading program and received ice cream coupons, so of course we had to use them.

We met up with my parents one day and did some shopping in the big city. We went to two shops that I sell my products at. I splurged on these adorable sleep masks from Stitch Lab. 

We have been doing some exploring in the area. There is something so fun about learning about the area and world with these guys. Whether it is seeing turtles sunning on rocks in the river or a huge green caterpillar, it is so much better when shared with my kiddos.

All of a sudden, Mr. Shortcake has grown. He is bigger and acts bigger too. This is such a fun stage. He is full of curiosity and learning new things everyday.

These days can seem long and overwhelming, but they are the days, my friends. The days when we are completely together. We aren't running in different directions, each with our own agenda for the day. I love my little tribe!

Peachy's Kindergarten Graduation

Friday was Peachy's last day of kindergarten. We not only survived her first year of school, but she thrived and we loved seeing her grow and learn.

The school did a small program for the kindergarteners in the school gym and followed it with the closing service for the entire school. She was pretty excited about her "congraduation." She was very blessed in that both sets of grandparents were able to make it in addition to one aunt.

I have to admit to getting choked up a few times during the day. I wasn't so sad to see my little girl growing up, but more overwhelmed by the wonderful year she had. She easily made the transition to attending school all while dealing with moving to a new home in a new state.

She quickly made friends and really grew so much over the last nine months. Her teacher was so so so awesome.

She had a bigger class of 19 kiddos and on the last day when I was thanking her teacher she was sad that they were all moving on.

We are all looking forward to summer break, but Peachy is already excited to be attending first grade next fall.

Shortcake: 12 Months

This post is a month overdue, but I had to do one last monthly post on our little man. He has really grown up a lot even in the last month!! He is much more motivated to stand now, will sit up on his own, and also had started to do some crawling on hands and knees.

He definitely will say bye-bye and uh-oh unprompted. And we do think that there are mamas and dadas in there as well. So instead of having one first word, we will go with four! We also catch him doing some signing. Most often when he is done eating and wants out of the high chair.

He also points all the time which is totally fun. I love seeing what they are interested in. He loves to look out of the windows and see the backyard. We have a bird feeder that he keeps an eye on.
He loves being around his sisters and getting in on the action. (This isn't always met with their approval. Peachy often tells me to put him in his bouncer so he doesn't get into what they are playing with.)

Right after he turned one, I left town for a long weekend and he did just fine with daddy. I was a little worried because we still hadn't done complete night weaning. However, he slept better for dad than he does when I am around. So, yeah, the sleep thing still needs some work.

He is alternating between one and two naps. Unfortunately our schedule means that we need to be out picking Peachy up around noon, so there are days he falls asleep in his carseat. I often can transfer him, but I try to either put him down so he can nap before we leave or try to keep him up until we are home. Thankfully he is pretty flexible and this seems to work.

I really can't believe that my baby is already one!! There are days that I miss that baby stage, but then there are other days that I am happy we are moving on to more independence and less reliance on momma. However, everyday we are all blessed to have this little man in our family! He is a true joy!

On Blogging and Me Time

No doubt about it, this is a busy time of life for this mommy. With three littles to care for on a daily basis, there are days I wonder if I will ever get me time. (I am not complaining here or thinking that I am busier than the next person. This is the period of life I am in at the moment.) When I do get some time for myself, I usually spend it in some totally selfish and frivolous way. (Pinterest and Instagram to name a few.) And you know what? I don't feel guilty about it. How we all choose to spend our down time is up to the individual, wouldn't you say? Some wind down with the television, others go for a walk, some like to clean (that is certainly not me!!)

Anyway, that leaves our little space here on the internet a bit neglected currently. I have thought about giving up on blogging,  but I just can't do that. Instead I have decided to write posts when I feel like it. I love using this blog to record the days and moments in our little family. Do you know how many times I have used this blog to look up this and that about our children or our home or certain projects? And there it is, right at my fingertips! I also love to use this space to just write and connect. I have several friends that I have never met in real life, but because of our blogs, we are just that, friends. As a stay at home mom, those adult connections are much needed at times. I also like to write and share and this is my special place to do that. I am hoping to do more of that sharing just what I am thinking. Even if no one reads what I write, I enjoy the process of writing and sharing what is on my mind.

Peachy asked the other day how many blog posts I had written. I looked into it and figured out that I have written over 1000 posts. I have been keeping a blog since we moved into our first house the year before Peachy was born. Those seven years of blogging have made my mind think like a blogger. I find myself writing posts in my mind throughout the day. I don't always get around to actually typing and publishing those posts, but I am hoping to do a bit more actual blogging in the coming months. Hopefully I can use some of my new found time (since I am done getting ready for my craft fest) to share with you.

What about you? What do you like to do in your me time? How do you like to relax on your own?

Peachy's Sewing Machine {Sewing Machine for Children}

The proud birthday girl with grandma and Purple Thunder.

I just realized that I haven't really written a post about the sewing machine that Peachy received for her birthday, a Janome Half Sized Portable Machine called Purple Thunder, in May. She has put it through its paces, and now the time has come for a complete review.

We had bought Peachy a simple toy chain stitch machine for her fourth birthday knowing full well that it wouldn't really be useful. And we were right. That machine caused more frustration for all of us than the cheap price tag was worth. And as she wanted to do more and more sewing projects, I was more and more eager to get her a machine that really worked. (In other words, I was wanting my machine back for myself.) Now, I know that four or five years is young for a sewing machine, but I  knew my Peachy and knew that she could handle it.

My mom and I had discussed getting her a sewing machine that actually worked, but hadn't decided on anything. Then, one day, my mom read a blog post about the Janome Half Size machine. It isn't necessarily marketed to be a child's sewing machine, but the blog she had read said that her child was able to use it safely.

So, we ordered up a Janome Purple Thunder from Overstock. (The color was a bonus for Miss Peachy.) The machine is a good size for a child. The settings are also simple to use with eight stitches between straight and zigzag. The way the foot is made keeps little fingers from being sewn over. So far, Peachy's machine has handled all that she has thrown at it, including sewing through many layers.
The only feature I wish it would have would be a light, but that might only be to help my aging eyes. Also, the machine is a bit louder than my own machine. However, for the $70 price point, this machine is hard to beat.
I am also amazed at what this little lady is capable of doing. The fearlessness of a five year old combined with someone who has grown up watching someone sew is pretty amazing. She just sits down and starts sewing. The seams may not always be straight, but the creative joy is always there.

A Day in the Life: Tuesday, January 27, 2015

I always find Day in the Life of posts interesting. I like to see how other people spend their days. (Call my a Nosy Nelly.) I have also found that I enjoy looking back on the few that I have written in the past. We tend to remember the really big days, but the day-to-day seems to get lost in the memory jumble. So, I set out to take some pictures of our day on Tuesday this week.

-My day started around 6 with Mr Shortcake. (Well, in truth it started in the wee hours with a little feeding time with the afore mentioned 11 month old. He is still waking at night and the best way to calm him back to sleep is a feeding. Thankfully it is once a night and he does settle right back to sleep.)

-While I play in the living room with our little man, Mr Cherry gets up and gets ready for work. He usually leaves somewhere between 7 and 7:30. I go into the kitchen and get a lunch packed for him and send him on his way.

-This morning I also make the kids a hot breakfast. We are normally a cereal or toast kind of family, but I had seen a baked oatmeal recipe I had wanted to try, so I got to work on that.

-The girls wake up after Mr, Cherry leaves. (We have a rule that they need to sleep until 7. That way they aren't in a hurry to get out of bed when they still need sleep. They are pretty good at staying in their room until then.)

-We eat breakfast together and finish getting ready to get out the door by 8:30 to get Peachy to kindergarten. I like that her school starts a little later. It helps our mornings be a little more relaxed. However, it is still a hard time to get all three kids ready and out the door. Usually by this point we are already involved in something and need to stop in order to leave. Cream has the hardest time getting ready to go. I often have to remind her that I will put her in the van in whatever state she is in. This is a hard part of my day that can easily end in frustration and yelling. Not good.

-We drop Peachy off and Shortcake falls asleep on the way home. I successfully transfer him to the crib for his morning nap. Cream and I get some one-on-one time. Today she chooses to play a Disney Cupcake game.

-When Shortcake wakes up around 10, I decide to check out the area thrift shop before picking up Peachy. Before heading out, I give Cream and Shortcake a snack, throw in a load on laundry, and load up the van. At the thrift store I get some clothing to make into up-cycled animals for my Etsy shop and we get a few other things for our family.

-We get to Peachy's school a little early and finish our snack in the van in the parking lot. Peachy comes out just before noon and we head home. The girls decide that they would like to play a new game we picked up at the thrift store before lunch. I got Cranium Hullabaloo for $5! Great winter score!!

-We eat some lunch. Peachy decides she isn't really hungry which is unusual for her. (It is a sign of things to come.)
-While Shortcake naps I sometimes have the girls rest. One in their room and one in mine for a quiet time. I go and lay with Cream today in my bad and she actually takes a nap. Woohoo! Peachy stays in her room until three and we do some reading together. When Cream wakes up she is a bit sleepy yet and Peachy is a bit too, so I put on some Netflix.

-After some TV time the girls play while I start dinner prep. We have to go and buy some dishwasher tabs. Peachy isn't happy about this. She doesn't like going anywhere after school. We quick run and get the tabs and she crabs the entire time. When we get home I send her to her room until she can be nice. She ends up falling asleep.

-I finish making supper, soup, and go and wake Peachy up. It turns out she has a fever. That explains a lot. I give her some ibuprofen and she eats some supper which helps a ton.
-After we have eaten, I tell the girls that they should get ready for bed and we will have a pajama party. This is something we do that just means they get ready for bed and then stay up for a bit. But they call it a party! Ha!
-We settle in to watch some Property Brothers. (My choice!) Mr. Cherry gets home and eats his soup in the living room with us. By this point I am not feeling all that great. Oh lovely germs!
-We get the kids down for the night, but since Cream napped she won't go to sleep or lay quietly! Grr. We take turns going into her room and getting her to quiet down while we stream White Collar.
-Early bedtime for the parents tonight as well, 9:30. We are not night owls in this house.

Sibling Love

These three

Ah, these three are so good at being siblings

Hating one moment

Loving the next

Wanting to spend time together

Hating being around each other

Siblings