what's up weekly. (the week of the never-ending party.)

Whew!  This past week has been full, full, full, so let's jump right in!

Last Friday was Juni's birthday!  Precious, precious girl. 

Rocco made her a crown to wear, and Penelope made her pancakes for breakfast.

That evening was Good Friday, so we didn't do a birthday meal for dinner, but I think she was pretty happy with the cheese board.  

Lest you worry too much that she felt overlooked, have no fear: we did go all out for her party the next day.  The big girls got up early to decorate, and Penelope even made her a cake from scratch!  Saturday evening, we had pizza and cake with homemade ice cream, and Juni opened her presents from all of us.  It was a sweet day celebrating a sweet girl.

Helping to make the ice cream.

Helping to eat the frosting.

The next day was Easter!! And we did it UP.  We had bagels and lox and "mimosas" (the sparkling cider kind, not the champagne kind) for breakfast, then we all got dressed to the nines.

Later in the day, we had a ham dinner, and then a cheeseboard in the evening.  You should not be surprised and I am not exaggerating when I tell you I gained six pounds between last Friday and today.  SIX POUNDS.

Rocco ate all the lemon garnishes off the cheeseboard, and this was his face the entire time.

What you may have noticed in the photos above is that Todd's beard is making a more subtle appearance.  Some serious pruning happened on Saturday.  He went from this...

...to this.

And even though I am completely in love with how it turned out, this is how he feels about its absence.

Ophelia agrees.

And speaking of Ophelia, she turned four months old on Friday!  There are simply no words to describe our utter infatuation with this girl.  "Obsession" comes close.  She is the highlight of everyone's day.  She laughs now (!!), and she loves tummy time, and she is growing like a big smooshy weed.  She is a good sleeper - she is predictable at night, which is a huge blessing.  She's less predictable during the day, but that doesn't bother me.  This week she has started taking a SUPER long nap in the morning (2-3 hours) and then a couple shorter naps through the afternoon.  I'll take it.  (No sign of the four month regression yet, knock on wood.)

Atticus: "My favorite thing to do is to cuddle her while I read."

So you see, we've had a lot to celebrate this week.  We also kept trucking at school, I worked on a lot of house projects (repainting the trim, STILL working on deep cleaning the kitchen a little bit at a time, cleaning out the laundry room, filing all our scrapbook photos and papers from the last five years), and also the chickens are still alive.  They got an upgraded apartment and now they live in the garage because they kept flying out of the kiddie pool so I had to wrap it in chicken wire, which is not living room-/toddler- friendly.

It also turns out that least one is a rooster.  And go figure, it's my favorite one.  If you know of anyone who is in need of a livestock guardian, an alarm clock, or a long way to make soup, hit me up - he will need a new home.  DeeVee, you will be missed.

Okay, I'm off!  Atticus has speech therapy this morning with a new gal, and then I want to get some house projects completed this afternoon, so my day will be full.  Have a great weekend!

This is Daddy's girl.  He had to take his lunchtime walk inside one day this week because it was storming, so she found him and just held his hand while he walked.

Happy Friday from the Pretty, Pretty Princess.

what's up weekly. (we got chicks, and one of our own precious flock turned three!)

Party rock is in the house tonight! (And by "Party rock," I mean What's Up, and by "Tonight," I mean Weekly.)

Hey party people.  It's that time again: Party rock time.  I mean, Friday.

She pooped on her clothes, but Juni was asleep in the room where her clean clothes are kept, so I wrapped her in my cardigan.  She doesn't seem too torn up about it.  Also, I would like to mention that I bought this sweater when I was a freshman in high school and I still wear it pretty much every day. It is now providing warmth to the next generation. That's what I call an investment piece.

Well, we jumped back into school this week... for the most part.  This weekend will be a full one, so I was doing lots of prep.  It is Juni's birthday today (!!, more on this below!), so we were picking out gifts and gathering together food and supplies for her birthday meals today and a small party tomorrow.  I also made grocery lists and plans for our Good Friday cheese board tonight and our meals on Easter.  On Tuesday, I ended up cancelling school after breakfast because I needed to sort through Easter clothes, take Laurelai to an eye appointment, and get ready for a church membership class in the evening.

We call this look The Pointy Tongue.  She does it all the time and we love it.

By Wednesday, I knew what clothes I needed to buy for Easter so I headed to the mall in the morning.  I thought most stores open at 10:00, but I got there at 10:40 and nearly every store had signs up saying they didn't open until 11:00.  Luckily for me, Target is in the mall and opened at a normal time for humans to shop, so I went there first.  Which is how, a short time later, I found myself walking through Dillards carrying a 5 lb bag of potatoes and sack full of steaks.  (Great deal alert- Target has great prices on beef.  Who knew?)

(Also.  There is an indoor arcade/bowling alley in the mall which does open before 11:00, and the number of grown adults who were already bowling at 10:30 a.m. on a Wednesday was truly staggering.  I have so many questions about these people and the lives they lead.)

The kids made her a baby throne.

Anyway.  Even loaded down with potatoes, I made the rounds and found most of what I needed for the kids' Easter outfits.  The only decent shirt I found in Atticus' size just so happened to be an amazing color, come with a tie, and be marked down from $40 to $5.99.  That's shopping I can get behind.  I also found a really, really beautiful dress for Penelope, and some khakis for Atticus and Rocco.  I wasn't able to find anything I liked for Ophelia, so I'll need to spend some time today digging through clothing bins and getting creative with what we already have.

Our Easter celebrations actually officially started last night.  For Maundy Thursday, Todd decided that this year he would like to wash all our feet and pray over us.  It was so very, very sweet.

Lolo's feet are VERY ticklish.

Even Ophelia got to dip her little toes in.

Juni was a BIG fan.  After getting her feet washed once, she came back for a second round.  Then she washed my feet.

Then she came back for a third washing.

In addition to Holy Week, this has also been The Week of the Chick.  We went to Orscheln's last Friday to finally officially dip our toes in the homesteading life.  We came home with seven baby chicks and all their accoutrements.  I still kind of have no idea what I'm doing, but none of them are dead yet, so the learning curve seems to be gentle.  We have two Black Sx Links named Howitzer (Howie) and Deathly Vibes (DeeVee), two Red Producers named Megadeath (Meg) and Debbie, two Buff Orpingtons named Little Princess and LaPapa, and a Rhode Island Red named Rhody.  (I'll leave you to guess which ones were named by the boys and which were named by the girls.)

Little Princess and LaPapa meeting their fate.

Look at all their expressions!

Penelope has been so very excited to get chickens.  This was the look on her face when hers was put in the box to take home.

They all made it home safe and sound.

I spent some time outside getting a few coats of paint on the trim of the coop.  Talk about tedious, but oh-so-worth it.  Two coats don't give quite the coverage I was hoping they would, so I think I'll still need to do another coat.  Then I'm going to add some black hardware and then *chef's kiss*, the roost will be open for ruling.  (I do still need to order a fence, though.  At least I think so.  I'm not conviced free ranging the yard is our best option.)

How cute will it look with a black handle on the nest box?  And if I do run a fence, I think I'll enclose the run in such a way that I can grow a yellow climbing rose and maybe a hydrangea on the nest box side without worrying that a chicken will end up eating them.  Cute, right?

Okay, so let's talk about Juni.  My big, three-year-old Juni!

This girl has a personality.  She is sweet and stubborn.  She has set her feet on a rock and will NOT be moved.  She loves babies.  Her bestest best friend is Callista, and she can hold her own against her when she needs to (which is saying something).  Her favorite snugglies are a stuffed puppy she got from the State Trooper when we had our accident last year, and her "Chewy," an old pillowcase that she has chewed up and ripped to shreds.  (When she was a baby, she used to twist and suck on her crib sheet while she slept; then when she got a pillow, she did it to the pillowcase; then the pillowcase itself became its own blankie/snuggly.)  Juni Bear, we love every last ounce of you (and there are a lot of ounces to love).  You are your very own person and I can't wait to see how God uses you as a force for good in the world!  Happy birthday my beautiful, fierce girl!

Today, we're planning on pancakes for breakfast (with a chocolate chip smiley face one for the birthday girl!), and macaroni and cheese and hot dogs for lunch.  Penelope is baking her a cake, and I might make some homemade ice cream.  We got her some pretty flower-themed paper plates that she keeps carrying around.  "Pretty plates!  My plates?  Juni plates?"

Well, I'm off to go clean out the chicken box.  Again.  If there's one thing that can be said about chickens it's that they're huge dummies that feel no weight of responsibility for their own hygiene.  The amount of poop they're fine with kicking into their own water dish is truly remarkable.  The fact that any chickens live to adulthood without dying of sepsis is a testimony to the kindness of the Lord.  His eye is on the chickens.

Here are a couple sweet photos to send you on your way this weekend!

Just a couple of sisters, hanging out.

This week's flowers give me a strong Dance Recital Bouquet vibe, and I am HERE FOR IT.

Just a couple of brothers, hanging out.

what's up weekly. (this is how I hustle.)

Well, this week just FLEW by, and it has made me so itchy for summer break.  We didn't have school this week, so packed my schedule with as much as I possibly could.  I have so many things I'm trying to juggle - spring cleaning, prepping for chickens, learning to can, tackling some stalled-out house projects - plus, my house has a thick layer of grime since I'm coming off a stretch of pregnancy-Covid-newborn catatonia, so I was determined to make a little headway this week.

Luckily, I really did tackle a lot.  Let me just do a little listy-listy, accompanied by some sweet but unrelated photos from the week.

Laundry Room: our laundry room is a work horse.  Not only is it where I do laundry, but it's also our pantry, our family closet, some of our deep storage and where our deep freeze is located, and it is also the dumping ground for stuff I need to address but don't have time to, like our Goodwill donations, clothing that needs to be sorted and put into storage, and things I want to list and sell.  It has been a total disaster lately, and it only continues to get worse.  Not to mention ALL FOUR fluorescent light bulbs burnt out at the same time a week or two ago, so it is pitch black in there.  While I didn't make tons of headway this week, I did get some things organized (by camping lantern light), and I'll be picking up new lightbulbs today, as well as listing a few items for sale to get them out of the house.

Deep cleaning: We got our family room deep cleaned and the walls washed (there was still Christmas tree sap all over everything, and I still had evergreen boughs up as decor.  Doh.), as well as the kids' rooms deep cleaned.  I'm still working my way slowwwwwwly through a clean-out of the kitchen: each time I'm in there making dinner (or whatever), I try to take one cabinet to empty, sort, scrub and organize.  I'm through all the cabinets and drawers, and I got the tops of the cabinets scrubbed (ew) and the oven cleaned out (ew ew).  All I have left is to clean out the pantry and fridge, and touch up the paint, and the kitchen will finally be completely finished.  (Now I'm wondering if I should repaint the whole thing another color.)

Canning: I canned up fourteen quarts of chicken broth this week, and think I'll try my hand at beans next week.  It's becoming a little easier and more familiar each time I do it.

Yard work: I didn't get as much done outside as I'd hoped, since part of the week was cold and rainy, but we did finally finish up the raking.  I'm hoping to find some time next week to take the leaves to the dump site so we can finally put this trying experience behind us.

Errands: We ran to Lowe's yesterday morning to pick up a few paint samples.  I need to repaint the girls' room, since it's the only room besides the basement bathroom that hasn't been painted since we moved in.  I actually really like the color it already is, but it's flat paint which is TERRIBLE in rooms that children spend any time in.  It's looking grimy, plus the ceiling needs to be repainted but that's always easier to do if you're planning to do the walls afterward.  I'm also thinking of painting my upstairs bathroom a more interesting color, so I got some samples for that.

Today, we're running out to pick up a few last supplies for hanging some curtain rods in my room, and picking out NEW BABY CHICKS!  The kids are really excited; I feel a little trepidation.  But we're jumping in.

My birthday lilies are still looking and smelling amazing - I can't believe they've held up so long!

In addition to all this, we spent some time with friends.  Whew!  I'm always glad when we wrap up a break week and I don't feel like it was wasted.  I got plenty of time to work my way through some projects hanging over my head, but also lots of time to rest.  So it was the best of both worlds.

Now, I need to go sit down and make plans for our Good Friday feast day, our Easter plans, and Juni's birthday, which are all next week, as well as figure out what Easter clothes I need to buy for the kids.  Easter kind of snuck up on me this year - we haven't attended Easter service for the last three years!  Three years ago, Juni had just been born, then it was lockdowns the next year, and then last year the kids were sick I think.  So it's been a while since I've sorted through all that and I have no idea what I have and what I still need.

Todd always does pretty scripture art on our chalkboard on the first day of each month.  Juni always smears it around the second day of each month.  We got a photo of this month's artwork in time.

Next week, we will be jumping back into our last six-week stretch of school before summer.  Even through the summer I think I'm still going to have the kids do a little bit of before-breakfast school most mornings, like math and reading, as well as a quiet time of listening to audiobooks after lunch most days.  But the workload and the schedule will get significantly lighter, which will (hopefully) free me up to continue to regain a bit of control over the house, so I'm counting down the days.  If all goes to plan, we will wrap up our official year on May 20.

So, nose to the grindstone: I'm going to finish strong.  Just six more weeks!

what's up weekly. ("it was my birthday.")

Hey there, party people.  I don't have to tell you twice that it is FRIDAY, and you know what that means!  That yesterday was Thursday!  (Also, it's Blog Day today.)

The biggest news of the week was that I celebrated another trip around the sun.  I am officially in the second half of my thirties.  It turns out time just keeps on trucking, just like I always suspected.

The day was wonderful - I woke up to a decorated dining room, complete with a banner that read, "Happy Birthday Mom!" (And then the "birthday" section fell down, so it just said, "Happy Mom!" which was accurate.)  My chair also had a sign on it that said, "There she is, the birthday girl!"  Todd got me flowers, which smell heavenly and have held up all week and still look wonderful today.  Penelope made me an apple crisp - my favorite to eat, but not my favorite to bake myself, so I almost never do.  Everyone got me such sweet gifts (so. many. M&M's) and were so sweet to me all day.  

It is not lost on me how well I am loved.  I don't deserve it, and I won't take it for granted. 

Penelope bought me a gift on Ophelia's behalf, so I even got to say thank you to my littlest one.

The day itself was great - Todd asked me to pick whatever I wanted for meals, so I had a steak omelet for breakfast, and we got fancy coffee on the way home from the Amish.  I had thawed a ham steak for lunch, but Ophelia conked out for a good nap, so I skipped eating lunch so I could lay down with her, and I got a fantastic nap in.  (Almost three hours!!  I've been really tired lately, so it was needed and helpful, and I still got to sleep fine at night.)  Then we got barbecue for dinner.  All in all, such a great day.

This is all I have to say about how it feels to turn another year older: every single year I look around and my blessings are more layered.  Nothing has been taken from me, only added to what I've already been blessed with, and I just honestly can't believe it sometimes.  I really never imagined life could be so wonderful, so full, so enjoyable.  I didn't know I was allowed to even hope for a life so good, much less actually get it.  We do not serve a stingy God, but a lavish one.  And that's all I have to say about that.

In less me-centric news, Ophelia got her first full bath.

Raise your hand if you are cold and unimpressed.

We have also been working a little bit on some very gentle sleep training.  We've had some wins (she is actually napping in the crib most of the time, rather than in my arms for every nap, and her bedtime has moved up) and some not-so-wins (shorter naps, earlier wake times).  It's a process.  I always feel the itch for more routine/normalcy/sleep right around the four-month mark, so this seems right on track for us, but it feels like it really marks the end of the newborn stage, which is sad.

Also, OPHELIA LAUGHED FOR THE FIRST TIME THIS WEEK!  The kids heard her quite a few times before I got to witness it, but we are all just melted into puddles.

In other kid news, we finished up a six-week stretch of school, so we are officially on break after today!  I think next week will be spent on a few house/yard projects, like painting the trim on the chicken coop, finding and killing the mangy mole in our yard, finishing up deep cleaning the boys' room and the kitchen, and hopefully finding a spring wreath for the front door. (My old one bit the dust last year, so I still have a Christmas wreath up, yikes.  Happy April.)  I think we will also be getting our baby chicks.  I do feel a bit of trepidation about it, but there's no time like the present to be brave and invest in new skills (and an alternative food source), am I right?

In addition to school this week, we squeezed in a few extras: an Azure Standard pickup, which means I have some new flour to experiment with, so I'm working on a couple of loaves of sourdough sandwich bread as we speak.  I also made some paneer with leftover milk, and sourdough crackers from discard.  Just call me Ma Ingalls.  I also picked up some beef from our beef guy, and found a killer deal on organic chickens at Natural Grocers, so our freezer is stocked up a bit.  I got my canner back in the mail (did I tell you I had to send it in for repair?), so I'm going to be making a large batch of cooked chicken to can, as well as lots and lots of chicken stock.

And that was our week!  I am looking forward to the simultaneous rest and productivity that come with break weeks, so off I go to enjoy it!