Trees, carrots, towers, clean bathtubs, and the joy of routine!

 By the third week of school we finally hit our stride.  It is hard to believe that we are now on our 7th week of school!  T thrives on structure and routine.  Our homeschool time looks just as structured as her school day would be if she was learning at her elementary school.  Each weekend I make a weekly agenda and we check items off the list each day.  So far we have diligently done every assigned item.  

M is also getting into a groove of studies.  We had some struggles the first weeks with lots of videos and games online, but we are figuring out how to parent a virtual school student and he is figuring out how to be a virtual school student.  A week ago I was blessed to have his conferences (via zoom) and he is thriving in his classes.  The teachers raved about him and it filled this mama heart with joy... but I am getting ahead of myself.  

Here are some pictures from the week of 9/20 - 9/27.  Many sweet moments in the life of our family.  Much of our life is filled with drama and chaos, but I am so thankful for the photos of the sweet moments that remind us of all the ways we found joy! 

This puzzle was completed weeks before but we finally took a picture!

T: Do you like my new fort? 

As you can see, T uses all of the storage spots possible. 

We took a field trip to see T's OT and pick up some new masks.  I think K makes the best masks.  They have great nose pieces, wonderful protections, MERV filter pockets (and come with filters), and of course are locally made by our favorite OT and her mom and sister.  She has 100's of design options, so let me know if you want a hook up and I will send you a link to her shop.  I have more masks than I probably need, but next time I order one I am going to get the pattern that she is wearing.  I love the color!  

Our amazing mask maker!

One evening T decided to get creative with dinner.  She created special treats with apples, turkey, carrots and blueberries.  She was quite proud of her creations. 

T: Would you like to try one? 

On Thursday (9/24) T had a playdate with neighbor S.  They did some raking and leaf jumping.  They also did some tree climbing.  They LOVE their tree fort.  

Working hard. 

T: Ready for me to jump? 

T: This is our tree fort!

T: I sure am glad that S is my neighbor!

On Friday T NEEDED to take this pic of Teeny Tiny.  She takes many... I am including one. 

If my memory is correct, on Friday afternoon M and I went to Aldi and Brandon and T made tall towers.  Our Aldi trip involved two full carts and a new Aldi store as ours is being remodeled. 

T: Look how tall my tower is! 

T: I added 4 more blocks and it is still standing!

T: One more... still standing!

T: This was the final block because they all fell down. 

T: We decided our fort needed some bike parts!

One Friday evening we grilled hotdogs over the fire and then had S and her family over for a camp fire! 

T: These masks are great for smoke protection!

Our weekend wasn't filled with huge events as it would have been in a world without COVID.  This weekend would have been our big adoption fundraiser, but instead  I worked on church stuff and the kids climbed on the roof and harvested the garden (with Brandon of course). 

M: We just did a bit of trimming. 

M and T: Can you tell how high up we are? 

Three kids in a tree, how can that be? 

On Sunday morning I was getting ready and noticed that our bathtub was beyond gross.  I had used magic erasers and tried to get some of the scum off of the textured floor, but nothing really seemed to get it totally clean.  I decided to do some googling.  I read about a lot of different options.  Many of them seemed like a lot of steps.  Many of them seemed like more work than I was hoping for... did I really want inches of foam in my tub?  Then I stumbled upon a video that made it look easy and I decided I didn't have a lot to lose.  This process created a miracle in my bathtub which I still am baffled by.  When I think of my decades of textured floor cleaning I ache that I didn't know this earlier.  I feel it is my duty to share this information with others.  

To have a super clean tub you need vinegar, blue dawn, and a scrub brush.  Seriously, that is it.  

1. Heat vinegar (2-4 cups) in a glass measuring cup for about one minute.

2. Close the tub drain.

3. Squirt some blue Dawn on your tub.  I just made a few swirls and didn't really measure it.  

4. Pour some vinegar in the tub.  

5. Lightly scrub the vinegar and Dawn together. (you can also use mixture on shower/bath walls)

6. Rinse the tub.

7-10. Smile in awe and pop into the bathroom randomly throughout the day to make sure it still looks amazing... and I promise you it will!!

Steps one through six take only a couple of minutes.  It scrubbing is basically a joke because it all comes clean so quickly.  Steps seven through ten are optional, but just try to stop yourself... haha... it is that impressive.  Brandon told me he actually said, "oh wow!" out loud when he saw it. Of course maybe your tub wasn't that gross and you can't really tell a difference or maybe you have known this secret for decades and just didn't tell me.  

I can't even believe it. 

Back to the regular content...

Another day, another tower!

We planted carrots seeds in the spring and then just waited and waited and wondered if we would have any harvest.  I was quite pleased with the hidden gems the children discovered. 

M: Some of them were really stuck in there. 

T: I had to look for the carrots under the tomatoes. 

M and T: Some of them were VERY tiny!

And some of them were HUGE!

Short but sweet time with grandparents!

Wednesday (9-16) was forecast to be a beautiful day in our area.  It was supposed to be near 80 and a lovely fall day.  When my mom noticed this weather in the 10 day forecast she said it would be the perfect day to come for a visit.  My parents live 7 hours away and our week days are filled with school and therapies so it isn't the ideal day for a visit, but the weather was perfect.  I am thankful they came just when they did.  We have a very special time together. 

The wildfires were really changing our sunrises and sunsets for a while.  This particular morning the sun looked like a red-orange ball in the sky.  It was very unique even though the photo might not show it. 

Morning walk view.

My parents arrived at 3:00pm.  M was just finishing zoom therapy.  T was just finishing outdoor art therapy.  She screamed, "Grandma and Grandpa are here!"  It was a total surprise to the kids.  T was already wearing her mask from Art so she just rolled with it and hugged my parents and went on with life in a carefree way.  M was so very overwhelmed.  He said he thought he might never see them again.  He was crying so much that he ran to church and cried as Brandon held him for quite a while.  Then he came home and fell on the floor and cried more.  After about an hour he was ready to engage with them.  Yes, we did learn from this experience and we gave him an hour warning before Brandon's parents visit. We spent a lot of time in the backyard and were able to be without masks.  COVID has increased so much now that I am not sure I would have been comfortable with all we did.  This is another reason I am so thankful they came when they did.  

Having my parents here was surreal.  I talk with my mom on the phone a lot.  Since COVID we have been talking 4-5 times a week with probably 3 of those times being long conversations.  We both enjoy walking and talking on the phone so we can catch up and get exercise.  Because my mom and I talk a lot,  I feel very close to them even though they are far away.  This is a blessing because I don't miss them as I would without our conversations.  While they were here I just kept thinking that we needed to take pictures and make memories.  Our together times might be short and far between for a long time.  We know that seeing them at Thanksgiving and Christmas isn't assured so I wanted to cherish that time as much as I could.  

T and my mom went on a hunt for grasshoppers and bugs.  T was really into this for a couple of weeks.  She truly enjoys studying bugs.  

I love seeing them together. 

T: I caught one!

While T and Grandma Kathy were looking for bugs, M was playing HORSE with Grandpa Daryl.  They played a lot of basketball.  It was so special to see them both smiling together. 

M: I sure do love Grandpa Daryl.

M: I like to go for the hard shots and make Grandpa work!

T: Grandma is pretty good at Connect Four.  (T is REALLY good and always beats me.)

Taking a break from Basketball. 

T picked clover and was trying to get my mom to eat it.  My mom was such a good sport.

T: I think Grandma Kathy might just be pretending. 

T: I was trying to look extra sweet. 

We had Culvers in the backyard for dinner.  The kids were very happy about this.  Shortly after dinner we walked downtown to the ice cream shop for dessert.  Seeing the kids hold my parents hands was so precious to me. 

I love the way M is looking up at my dad. 

Awww

So thankful for these two!

When your owner friend is working and you get your very own ice cream scoop!

It was a beautiful night with lovely atmosphere and company.  It felt like we were on vacation.  COVID felt a million miles away and I felt so at peace with life.  It was a gift to have an evening like this. 

I sure do love these people. 

On the way home the four of them were all holding hands.  T is so busy and refused to walk in a straight line so I could get a pic.  I took MANY pics and the picture below is as good as it gets. 

Can you tell she is holding his hand? 

I was planning to have a camp fire when we returned, but we lent our fire pit to others for the night. We ended up just sitting and chatting.  My dad told all his funny stories and EMT stories. He is an excellent story teller and M eats up every word. 

M: I love his stories. 

After a while T asked Grandma Kathy if she could talk with her alone on the front porch.  It was very sweet to see them having special time together. 

T: I had lots of questions for Grandma Kathy. 

The flash made it tricky, but this is a nice group picture. 

My parents headed to their hotel around 9:00 so we had about 6 hours together, perhaps a bit more.  

On Thursday (9-17) my parents returned around 8:30.  The mold removal people arrived before 9:00 so there was lots of chaos trying to get everything ready to do school at church.  It was lovely to have my parents there to entertain the kids and I ran around inside. 

M: I wanted them to stay longer. 

Before my parents headed home we gave them a tour of the completed church.  Their last visit was before Christmas and many of the new areas were not finished at that time.   It was fun to get to show them around, but tricky to keep T from touching everything. 

I sure am thankful for our time together. 

M was sad and T was anxious to start school. 

Sort of wish I wasn't wearing an orange T shirt, but thankful for a whole group shot. 

Family COVID shot with a glaring girl and a sad boy. 

After taking pictures my parents got on the road pretty quickly.  They left by 10 something.  It was such a short visit, but it was very precious.  Their departure meant a tricky start to our school day.  Doing school at church was tricky, but trying to get everything going after the big feelings was extra tricky.  T just wanted to sleep so I let her snuggle for a while. 

T: I still love a good cozy nest!

Eventually we got in the groove and managed to get lots of school work done.  I was even able to do sample coloring sheets and crafts for my second packet.  It ended up being a very productive day. 

T's sign might have said "School is cool" and I might have influenced her to add "my home" to the beginning of it... you will never know. 

T: It was fun to play in the nursery. 

My parents made it home safely and we have all felt healthy, so no COVID was spread and the kids fevers were not passed to them.   I am so thankful for this very special time together, even if our time together only equaled the time it took them to drive to our house.  Thank you for the sacrifice mom and dad!  We are blessed!