The Weekly Plan {Sept 17th}

(dontcha love my espadrille tan?)

This past week was a lovely little break from regular life. We took our family on vacation to Gulf Shores, Alabama, and I got to wiggle my toes in the sand all week long! I adore the beach and it was such a beautiful week weather-wise with perfect temps and a great breeze. Sitting on the beach, watching my children play in the sand and jump in the waves (they get along so well there), soaking in the sun with a good book ....well, that's my own little paradise:)

I also got to enjoy a week of eating out ...mmmmm! We had yummy home-style food at Lambert's, delicious fresh seafood at our Gulf fave: The Shrimp Basket, some of our fave pizza at the Mellow Mushroom, and we tried out two new-to-us places: LuLu's and Bahama Bob's--both very good!! I think I could almost eat fresh Gulf shrimp every day! I have to admit it, when The Princess asked what my favorite part of vacation was I had to say not cooking or cleaning up after cooking. :) Plus on our way home we got to stop and spend the night at our best friends' house and enjoy a long overdue visit with their family--and eat some delicious home-cooking! It was the perfect ending to our vacation!

Now it's back to real life: menu planning, grocery shopping, lesson planning, meetings, appointments, cleaning, laundry, cooking ....well, real life!

However, it is my birthday week, so I will get spoiled a little:)

Monday:
-Homeschool
-The Princess' first orthodontist appointment
-The Library
-Clean the kitchen and bathrooms
-Dinner out for Italian food with my whole family to celebrate my birthday

Tuesday:
-Homeschool
-Dust and vacuum the house
-Go through Mr. B's fall/winter clothes
-Dinner: Fried pork chops & chicken strips, boiled red potatoes, and fried squash and zucchini

Wednesday:
-Homeschool
-Continue housecleaning; start getting out Fall decor
-Dinner: Tostadas

Thursday:
-Homeschool
-Finish putting out Fall decor
-Dinner: Split pea soup with crusty bread

Friday:
{my birthday!!}
-Co-op classes
-Dinner with friends

Saturday:
-Breakfast at Cracker Barrel with the ladies from our church
-Vince taking the kiddos to Lowe's Build & Grow clinic
-Visit an Amish store or two with my sister
-Dinner: {leftovers}

Sunday:
-Church!
-Lunch: Roast, carrots and potatoes (crockpot), and Arkansas green beans

This post is linked to Menu Plan Monday at I'm an Organizing Junkie.

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 ...

Fun With 4th of July Crafts: Part 3

I love my new patriotic front door wreath!! I had fun putting this together, although I must admit this is more of an adult craft than one for kiddos. I was inspired by this article in Family Fun magazine. I didn't have quite everything I needed for this one, but all I had to purchase was a few sheets of scrapbook paper and some double-sided tape. Then all I had to gather up were some scissors, regular Scotch tape, a ruler and some cardboard. First I cut four (5"x 6") pieces of each paper. Then by placing a piece of double-sided tape on one of the short ends of the papers, I rolled them into cones, pressing the seams together well. Then I cut a 10" circle out of cardboard and began to stick the cones on it. I used another piece of double-sided tape to stick the cones on, arranging them in a circular pattern. Next I used regular Scotch tape to attach them on the back to the back of the cardboard. After getting all the cones on, I was ready for my centerpiece. He...

my blessed life

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