5th Grade Field Day & Camp

One of the many blessings of being a stay at home mom is the fact that I can be more actively involved with the kids at school.  It was great to be able to attend Annika's 5th grade field day at the high school and being a camp chaperone....well that was definitely an experience!

My little peanut running in the marathon

I have to say that it has been a bittersweet week for me.  Sweet because I love spending time with my kiddo and it makes her so happy to have her mama along.  Sad because this is it...she will officially be in middle school next year and while she'll always be my baby, she's growing up.

Ani and some of her besties

I keep telling her to make sure she keeps her friends close.  I have always regretted not staying in touch with a lot of my close friends from my youth.  I tell Ani she needs to make sure she has a friend like her Aunt Lea (my bestie) in her life.  It's vital!

Running in the 200 meter dash

Ani tells me that she might want to take up track once she can participate in sports (7th grade) in middle school.  She & I are going to try the Couch to 5K program this summer. 

Ani & one of our refugee friends, Ornella

 I am so glad that God lead me to volunteering with the refugees.  It has enriched our lives and been a great experience for our kids.

Camp was a fun yet thoroughly exhausting day.  The kids had a blast though and that's all that matters.

Ani & some classmates canoeing

A little horseback riding

And facing her fears on the high ropes course

 Coming down the zip line

I was in bed by 7 last night since two days going really kicked my rear end but it was so worth it.  Thank you Heavenly Father, for giving me such wonderful opportunities!

Somewhat Crunchy

I have a confession to make.  About 7 years ago, I was a member of a Christian women's forum.  It was a great place to meet friends with like-minds and to discuss our faith.  As anyone who has been a forum member may know...there tend to be pet peeves or minor irritations...personality conflicts, faith and belief clashes, etc.  My biggest...let's say pet peeve was the moms that I considered "crunchy granola."  These were the co-sleepers, the ones who nursed until their kids were 3 or 4, who made everything from scratch, couldn't imagine working outside the home and who, as a rule, also home schooled their children.  As a working mom of four, I scoffed at that way of life.  **clearing throat** So imagine my chagrin to see how wrong I was.  Admittedly, if I were going to have another baby, I don't think co-sleeping or nursing so long is for me, and I don't feel qualified to home school but making everything from scratch?  Not working outside of the home?  Guilty as charged...and loving every second of it!

 

This shelf is the beginning of my obsession with homemade beauty products. The jar on the left is my nightly face scrub.  I got the recipe here and I love the way my face feels after I wash it.  The bottle next to it holds my facial toner and this I use twice a day.  It costs me so little to make both of these items and they work just as well as anything I've ever bought in the store.  The jar on right is my body butter which is just coconut butter that I've whipped and added some essential oils to.  I also have homemade face wash that I use every morning when I shower.  It is a bit more runny than I would prefer but I'll keep searching until I find the right recipe. In addition, my baby girl & I do a homemade spa night every few weekends.  We use herbs like mint & eucalyptus for steam treatments and then give ourselves a mask that is made of 2 tablespoons of my homemade yogurt, one tablespoon of honey and one teaspoon of lemon juice.  Thanks to Pinterest, I have a ton of recipes to choose from in my hunt to become somewhat crunchy.  

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder......Right?

Whew!  It's been a few months.  Sometimes time just gets away from me and all my good intentions to keep up on my  blog, my writing, my reading, etc. just goes by the wayside.  Something that I noticed after I had my first child was that becoming a parent was like pushing fast forward on the DVD player.  I never know where the time has gone.

We have hit a few milestones in the last few months.  Our oldest got her first job and has started drivers training (I am so not ready for this!), our youngest is finishing up her final year in elementary school and now all but one child is officially a teenager. 

The end of the school year is ending in a frenzy of activities....final concerts, school picnics, field days, a 5th grade camp trip, awards and graduation ceremonies and science fairs.  Tomorrow I will be chaperoning my daughter's camp trip....horseback riding (this I am very excited about!), canoeing (eh...) and zip lining (no thanks!).  She is so very excited that her mama is joining her class trip.  It reminds me yet again of how blessed I am to be able to stay home.  

If I still have any readers out there, I promise to try to be better about keeping up.  For now here are a few snapshots of our lives in the last few months.

 Introducing our refugee friends to the joys of coloring Easter eggs

Birthday cupcake cones for our newest teenager

Happy 13th Birthday Desiree!

 Homemade spa night with my girls

I'm off to watch my baby girl participate in her field day event. Here's to hoping I keep this updated better.  Ciao!