Our Valentine's Day...A Little Late

Yes, I know I'm way behind on doing this post. But I'm doing it anyway:) We did have a really nice Valentine's day this year.

We started the day with heart-shaped waffles--dyed pink to boot!! Sorry I didn't get a photo of that. Then we decided to take the kiddos to a nearby town, Tuscumbia, to an old-fashioned ice cream parlor then to the park.

The Palace Ice Cream & Sandwich Shop was first built in 1833 as a drugstore. By the 1990's the drugstore was gone and the building was in disrepair. A local couple who had grown up frequenting the drugstore in the 40's & 50's decided to restore it in 2000. It's really a great little spot!!

(Aren't those the cutest t-shirts that my sister, Kari, made the kiddos?!!)

We had some yummy soup and sandwiches followed by some great ice cream~comfort food!

Then we headed a few blocks away to Spring Park. Even though it was a sunny day, it was still pretty cool. But we stayed for a little while and let the kiddos get some much-needed outdoor playtime. I think we've had a little touch of cabin fever lately.

We fed the ducks and geese some of The Princess' leftover sandwich. They seemed to like it just fine!

The kiddos wanted to try touching a duck--and, of course, Vince was egging them on!

The Princess actually got pretty close to this one, but would jerk back at the last minute. The duck finally had enough and flew away.

Then we headed back home for a nap! Does any day get any better?! :)

The Making of an Egyptian Death Mask

We are learning all about the ancient world this year with Story of the World I and loving it! We've been learning a lot about Egypt, of course, which is completely fascinating. Most recently we have studied the New Kingdom of Egypt, which includes the story of King Tut. So we decided making an Egyptian death mask in the style of King Tut's would be a fun project. First since it was too cold at the time to paper mache in the garage (it probably would have frozen instead of dried-ha) and it was too messy to do it in the house, we decided to pick up a couple of cheap craft masks at Hobby Lobby. Next we cut out cardboard shapes to complete the shape of the death mask, attaching them with hot glue. Vince even put a little detail on the *beard* with the hot glue per The Princess' request. Then the kiddos started to paint them with this metallic gold tempera paint. It worked okay for the cardboard, but would not coat the plastic of the mask. We thought maybe a second coat ...

Door Hanger Chore Charts

My kids have had a chore chart for a while. It's one of those magnetic boards and they share it. However, it's not by their rooms and often they (and I) forget to update it. Plus it's a little bulky. When I saw the concept of a door hanger chore chart on Pinterest, I loved it! It was compact, right there were the kiddos could see it coming out and going into their rooms, and it costs almost nothing to make. I headed over to one of my favorite stores: Hobby Lobby, of course. They have these little wooden door hangers for .79. I also grabbed a couple of packets of decorative buttons for $1.99 each. I already had the clothes pins and the paint so those cost me nothing. I began by painting the door hangers (I used tempera paints because that's what I had). Then I grabbed a fine point Sharpie and the clothes pins and started writing chores on them, making sure to write them correctly so they will ...

One Way I Refresh During the Summer as a Homeschool Mom

As our homeschool takes some time off this summer, my mind almost never stops thinking of and planning ahead for the upcoming school year. This is probably because I'm Type A and an obsessive planner...lol Whatever the reason, I do enjoy this season of planning. But I also need to be refreshed as a homeschool mom. Homeschooling can be incredibly exhausting and all-consuming. It's not easy and it's a lot of responsibility. And I take that very seriously when I am researching curriculum and planning toward the next school year. So also taking some time to rejuvenate and refocus myself is very important. How do I do this? Each summer I take some time to read something inspiring and motivating that speaks to me as a homeschool mom. Some of my fave reads from past years--that I have nearby on my shelf and refer to often--are Educating the Wholehearted Child, The Well-Trained Mind, The Charlotte Mason Companion, A T...

my blessed life

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