Joyfully Weary

One of the first things I do when planning a thematic unit is start searching for quality related books. Jeremy and I are both lovers of the written word and we are very glad our children have all seemed to have inherited this trait.  A good portion of our school days are spent curled up on the couch reading and discussing books. Below is a list of some our favorite books from our weather unit .  1 -   Bartholmew and the Oobleck by Dr. Seuss   is a tale of a discontent king who makes the terrible mistake of demanding a new type of weather. Oobleck falls from the sky and threatens to destroy the kingdom. In the end the King learns the power of the simple words "I'm sorry". Written in classic Dr. Seuss style this book is a joy to read.  2 - Brave Irene by William Streg  t ells the story of a brave young girl who battles the snow and wind to deliver a dress for her sick dress-maker mother. Big Buddy particularly enjoyed this tale for the main char...

Yesterday, was one of those rare perfect days. Jeremy and I both woke up an hour before the kids and enjoyed some quiet time reading on the sofa. I got in a good long, hard swim. Then we had a leisurely brunch on our front porch. The sun decided to shine while we spent a few hours working on house projects. Then we joined good friends in celebrating a sweet girl's first birthday. Despite all the activity the kids were happy and whine-free most of the day. Bedtime was easy and Jeremy and I got to spend some more time together on the sofa - this time catching up on a few of our favorite television shows.  I needed yesterday because the rest of the week was HARD! Be it the weather, physiological reasons, or just my own selfishly sinful heart, I was a cranky a mess. All week I felt behind and exhausted. The sun refused to shine. The kids bickered and whined. I reacted with annoyance and frustration instead of patience. The kids whined some more. It seemed that if something could...

SUNDAY dress: eshakti , scarf + tights: target, shoes: dsw Unfortunately, Spring's sun and warmth are taking their time arriving this year so the week still called for sleeves and tights.  TUESDAY sweater: anthropologie , dress: gift/f rancesca's , boots: target FRIDAY cardigan: gap , t-shirt: vs , belt: thrift, skirt: hand-me-down/vintage, shoes: dsw , necklace: francesca's   Want more? Check out these link parties to see lots of other ladies having fun with their clothes:  Watch What I'm Wearing ,  Sunday Style ,   Monday Mingle ,  Style Sessions,   What I Wore Wednesday , and  Dress for the Day .   Follow my blog with Bloglovin  

One of my children's favorite art activities is to make collages. About once a week I pull out the scraps box and they glue whatever/however they want down on a piece of scrap cardboard. It's an open ended activity and it's fun to see their creativity go in different directions. Last week however, an activity from the book   Arty Facts Weather and & Art Activities inspired us to make a more specific design: strormscapes.  i think they did a pretty a great job.  Our Supplies*:  various paints (acrylic grey & silver, glitter glue, and grey & black puffy fabric paint), white glue, foam brush, scissors, foam board, aluminum foil, silver tissue paper, gold pipe cleaners, cotton balls, and tape. *our supplies are a bit different from the ones listed in the book because we improvised and made do with the items we had on hand.  Step 1: form storm clouds by gluing cotton balls, foil, and tissue paper to the top of your board. Be...

Except for the bracelets, I've had every piece of this outfit for over five years. A couple things are almost a decade old! When I'm smitten with a piece it's really hard for me to get rid of it or to "upgrade". Theses heels are from Target and there have been a couple times where I thought I should probably invest in a better pair. However, I have yet to find a style I like more...and these are super comfortable...and we've shared so many happy times.   SUNDAY old and older :)  Sometimes I'm shocked by the pieces that make it to Anthropologie's clearance room. I found this top a couple weeks back for only $20! It's very light weight so it's been a great spring transition piece.  TUESDAY top: anthropologie , jeans : gap , shoes: dsw , bracelet: target Jeremy made me these charms for Mother's Day last year - I know a snagged a really good one! I've been meaning to pick up some supplies so I can put them ...

This is a weekly series inspired in part by  Bob Bennet's  song  Small Graces. mini man is always asking to water grass and plants, "because they are really thirsty". i'd like to think i'm improving but i'm pretty sure he's the real reason we've been able to keep house plants alive this last year.  big buddy picked me a flower then brought me a  whole vase full *if it's not above 80 i can usually be found under a blanket little lady preferred to water lizzie- she is such a good dog!  this girl with her blanket, her thumb, and her daddy's eyes - my heart may burst! 2nd date of the week! *coffee and magazines at barnes and noble we finally filled in the cistern in our backyard. before we finished we let each of the kids climb in for a picture. despite their curiosity they had all done a wonderful job of staying away from it.  he is growing into such an amazing person BUT is it happening wa...

As part of our weather unit we've been talking a great deal about clouds and thunderstorms. Which is perfect because the last couple of weeks have been filled with rain - in fact it's thunder and lighting outside as I type. Luckily, all my kids are more curious than scared of storms. There have, however,  been a few instances of thunder that have caused Little Lady to jump. When I was packing up our Christmas decorations I noticed I had some icicles/tinsel I had never used and decided to leave them out since they reminded me of rain - I was already planning on doing a weather unit.  With a few other odds and ends from our craft supplies an idea for creating some storm/cumulonimbus clouds was formed.   Our Supplies: icicles/tinsel , gold pipe cleaners ,  styrofoam  packing peanuts, cloud shapes cut from a cereal box, scissors, hole punch, tape, glue, grey  acrylic paint, foam brush and ribbon/string.  Step 1: punch hole in top of t...