We had a very fun surprise this week.
The girls have been participating in the summer reading program at our local library, and on Wednesday we found out they had both won “the big bonus prize” for being the first in their age groups to read (or have read to them) twenty-four books.
So they each came home with $25 gift cards to Harkins Theaters, and a pass for a free popcorn.
I don’t know about you, but I thought this was a pretty fantastic prize. We hardly ever take the kids to the movies because it just feels so expensive for all of us to go. But this meant two family trips to the movies, and the girls are so excited.
So today when the monsoons rolled in about the time we were thinking of going swimming, we all went to the movies.
The girls really wanted to see the new “Ice Age” movie…
It was pretty great. Miss A was very happy to discover that the dinosaur was “friendly”.
The best part though, was at the end when Miss A leaned her head back in her chair, let out a big sigh and said in just above a whisper “I really love this movie”.
Seeing Ice Age 3 wasn’t the thrill of my life, but that moment made it all worth it. 
So thankful for our awesome library!
Did you know that for the last year I’ve been baking most of our bread at home?
I really like making it. Once I got over my fear of yeast, I found it to be really enjoyable.
That hasn’t changed. I still enjoy it.
But the bottom line is I can’t do it all. I want to so badly. But I just can’t.
I can’t bake all of our bread, make all of our snacks, cook all of our meals, line dry all of our laundry, clean my whole house, homeschool my two big girls, play with all three girls, spend time with my husband, go to church, serve in our ladies ministry, spend time with friends and family, attend homeschool events, participate in storytime at the library, scrapbook all of my photots, post daily on my blog, hand make all of my gifts, read my Bible, read for my bookclub, do the yardwork, take care of the garden, …….
I think you get the idea.
There are so many wonderful things I want to do and be, and I just can’t do it all. And sometimes I think when I’m trying so hard to do it all, I end up missing out on the things God really has for me to do because I’m just too busy to notice.
So I’m making myself evaluate, and trying to invest my time and energy in the best of the good things.
So I quit baking our bread. I will buy it at the store and it will probably have something artificial in it that wouldn’t have been in my bread. But honestly I think the stress of trying to live up to unreasonable (self-inflicted) ideals is going to kill me a lot faster than a little corn syrup will.
I’ll still bake bread from time to time for fun, or special occasions. We all enjoy kneading the dough! But I’m no longer the solitary bread-source of the house. And I’m glad.
Over the last year I’ve spent some time online catching up with my cousin. It’s been so fun, after a decade of not seeing each other, to be able to reconnect.
Today we had the chance to meet again. Yay!
Of course there’s no better place for a reunion than Chuck E. Cheese. 
It was great to get all of our kids together…
The boys weren’t too interested in picture taking, so we just let them roam and got a group shot of all the girls…
Miss I was thrilled to have a new baby to give her kisses to.
Of course we had to have a shot of the two mamas.
and for a little flashback fun…
here we are back in the day when we were excited to run around in clingy little leotards.
I think I can speak for both of us when I say that won’t be happening again anytime soon!
Catching up on housework today…hope you’re having more fun than me
Here’s my faves this week:
On the Practical side…
How cost effective is it to make staple items
20 Tips to waste less food
13 Easy ways to Save Money
5 Reasons to Line dry your Laundry
On the inspirational side…
Not Just Knowing
Just Be Yourself
In Training
Finally, I found this article very interesting:
Exposing the Seven Major Blind Spots of Homeschoolers
It’s very long, just so you know. And I’m not sure how I feel about this man and his ministries in general. But I think this article has some very valid points for homeschooling parents, as well as just Christian parents in general. As a new mom I was quickly sucked into the Christian/Homeschool ideolgy that if we do A, B and C perfectly as parents, then the result will be a “perfect” child. Thankfully, I didn’t remain influenced by this line of thought for long, and have since realized how legalistic and prideful it is. I was excited to read this article and see that someone who has promoted these methods for so many years is now realizing the problems with them. Just remember I warned you…it’s looooooong! (I may have skimmed a little here and there )
Enjoy your weekend.