Joyfully Weary

This is an old but favorite Anthropologie dress. I like that it's simple enough for everyday use, but that the bright kelly-green color and horizontal pleats on the hem gives it a bit of distinction.  dress: anthrpologie ( similar or  similar ),  shoes: thrift ( similar  or  similar )  cardigan: target ( same ), purse: charming charlie

Early this week I posted some of our favorite Independence Day books and thought also share some of the activities we've been doing as well. As I've mentioned before, these activities are geared for my children ages three to six. They are used as a supplement to Big Buddy's (age 6) first grade curriculum which you can read about here . Flag themed rhyming cards   I've made the pdf available  here . Language - Nomenclature cards and definitions.  I've made the pdf available  here . If you would like to create three piece cards just print two copies and cut the names off the ends.  Flag themed rhyming cards.   I've made the pdf available  here .

If you are frequent visitor to our blog, you've probably picked up on the fact that we are pretty big fans of books. We considered them 'friends' and enjoy that they introduce us to all kinds of new discoveries. The first thing, I always do when we start a new school unit/topic is look for great books. I also do this, whenever, this kids organically develop their own interests. Which means to my dismay, that I currently know far more about scorpions than I'd like to - knowledge just makes them even more gross and scarier! That book lists, however, will have to wait till another time. With July 4th, just around corner we've started reading, once again, about our country's Independence Day. Below is a list of our current favorite reads.  Fiction Jake Johnson: The Story of a Mule ,  by Tres Seymour -  A silly story of a stubborn mule who  is  suppose to pull the fireworks in to town but refuses to move. The battle between the farmer's wife and mul

Hello, I hope you've all had a good week!  Nothing major happening around our house lately. We are continuing to make progress with painting and enjoying the summer weather. Last Sunday we had a simple celebration for Father's Day. Jeremy is such a devoted dad! His patience and his ability to guide our kids amazes me. They all adore him, which causes me to adore him even more.  To celebrate their grandpa the kids helped me make  scotcheroos . They had never had them before are currently obsessed.  The boys have become great explorers and are constantly bringing me creepy crawlies of all sorts. They caught a turtle, who we decided to keep...I'll have to post pictures of him soon. I didn't get this on film but Mini Man also caught a bird this past week. If you haven't already you can read about it here .  Probably one of our biggest highlights so far this summer had been our playground tour. I've got plans to do some simple post o

Blue and green are probably one of my favorite color combinations. Since they are an a nalogous color  scheme,  they almost always blend well together; without making me feel like I'm dressed like for a holiday or a sports team.  dress: old navy (similar $38 , $19 , or $52 ), lace tank: gift ( same) , necklace: old, shoes: thrift ( similar $47 ) I adore this bright orange skirt but finding something to pair it with can be tricky. I don't feel like I look good in white shirts, I'm too pale. While pairing with black or brown makes me feel like I'm dressing for the fall/halloween. This peach and orange combination was a happy accident; sometimes a pile of clothes on your bed can be a good thing.  sweater: f21, skirt: hand-me-down ( similar $90 ), sandals: florence street market necklace: francesca's ( similar $33 , or $8 ) This shirt is another Thread-Up find. The skirt is one I picked up at frock swap a couple years back. T

A few  worthwhile things I've stumbled upon while wandering the internet.... I'm sure almost every mother struggles with feelings of being overwhelmed - "There so much I need to do, I didn't get anything done today!" That's why this quote made me smile; a simple  reminder of a 'task' that should be one of the upmost importance.  found via pinterest If like me you are fan of young adult fiction, they make great beach reads ,  here are 95 suggestions .  If you are looking for books for your children to enjoy this summer, here are 24 that should captivate them . This is a great out of the box list, most of these books are ones I have yet to read/hear about.  One more book related item. Have you heard of the Lost My Name books. A child wakes up to discover that they have lost there name and then goes on an adventure to find it. The book is customizable and would make a great gift for a 2 to 5 year old.  Summer always seems to

shirt: thrift, shorts: thrift ( similar $35  or similar $34 ) shoes:  gymboree  ( similar $35  or  similar $21 ) Summer inevitably seems to mean that lots of creepy crawlies are carried into my house. I've tried to be laid back about it. It was annoying that they kept using my glass Pyrex dishes for bug storage, but the was easily remedied with some Dollar Tree bug boxes. The thing that really sent me over the edge, was when Big Buddy decided to pull all the legs off of a centipede (it wasn't torture, he was dead when he found him) and then just left the body and all the legs on our school room shelf - I do not get paid enough to clean up bug dissections! So I set up a new rule that all bugs and bug boxes do not enter the house. Then a couple days later they found a turtle.  Jeremy, who had four turtles as a kid, said they could keep it. Thus, once again worms and slugs are making it past my front door; now, however, they are called turtle food.  Not sure I&#

I hope you all had a wonderful week. The weather here was glorious. Mid 70's all week, which is almost unheard of in the midwest! We spent most of the week outside: lots walks, bike rides, and picnics on the porch. This summer I organized a local playground tour group and this what wore for a weekly meet-up.  swaeater: thrift ( similar $30 ) necklace: target ( similar $36  or  similar $14 ), pants: ann taylor loft ( similar $70 ), shoes: target ( similar $70 ) We did have one rainy day this week and so, I used it as an excuse to wear my umbrella shirt...even though I don't teach preschool anymore I still sometimes like to dress like I do :)  shirt: h&m, cardigan: target ( same ),  jeans: hand-me-downs ( same ), shoes: thrift ( similar $58 ) I've had this dress for 8 years now. It was my first and one of my few full price Anthropologie purchases. It super comfortable and always makes me feel pretty, therefore,  I've discovered lots

Last weekend we headed to southern Illinois to see some family. Every summer Jeremy's aunts host Camp Cousins for all their nieces and nephews, who are over five. It's basically a weekend long pool and junk food party. This was Big Buddy's first year. He had a blast! His favorite part was sleeping in the tent with the older boys.  While he was at Camp Cousins Jeremy's aunts put the rest of us up in a cabin at Giant City State Park . It was beautiful. There were lots of rock cliffs and gorgeous trees.  Watching these two sleep together was so precious, they are such good friends!

This week Jeremy and I celebrated our nine year anniversary. It amazes me that my love and devotion for him has only grown. When he smiles at me there are times that my heart still skips a beat. His laugh still warms my soul. And sometimes, I even catch myself drooling as I stare at him. He is mine and I am so thankful! To say that the last nine years has been all peaches and cream though would be a lie. All that I said above is true, but there have also been moments when I was sure I'd never been so disappointed or angry at another person. Marriage is hard!  At times it's been a struggle.  We've both grown and I'm hopeful we won't go through those struggles again but I'm sure new ones will arise.  There are many, many , things that I love about Jeremy but the thing that brings me peace, that gives me comfort every time I'm in his arms, is that I know, like myself, he won't give up on us. He's committed, no matter what struggles come o

Jeremy and I have always been pretty relaxed about our kids taking risks.  Jeremy's naturally an optimist and isn't prone to worry. I spent too many years running after-school programs and daycares to realize that no matter how much you my try to bubble wrap everything, kids will find a way to have an adventure. It's better for them to feel safe taking challenges in front of you than to feel the need to be sneaky. Besides, most accidents happen when kids aren't being risk-takers; when they think they are safe, then they let there guards down. Most of the accident reports I wrote were for kids shutting their hands in drawers/doors or walking into desk/walls. This article , however, still got Jeremy and I thinking. We don't have an 'adventure playground' near  our house but we do have several playgrounds and nature preserves in the area. We also have a yard (albeit small)  where the kids can build things and be creative. I'm sad to admit that