Friday, June 4, 2021

June Daybook

 Outside my window...

It's sunny, hot, and loud from all the cicadas.  We're finally getting them here, but they're sparse.  In one tree and not in another.  Summer is on the way.

In the schoolroom...

We're having a leisure week before we hit some summer work.  Aren't I nice giving the kids one week off.  We just have to go over some math, Latin, and geography.  It won't be anything too major.

From the kitchen...

I've been working hard at meal planning.  Sometimes I'm on and sometimes I'm off.  Kevin does most of the cooking honestly, so there's that.  I'm grateful but meal planning in general is hard with this brood.  Marley is becoming quite the gardener and has tried her hand at homemade pesto using some basil.  She tried to grow some, but ended up just buying basil plants and now she's trying to grow the leaves back.






I am creating...

a new living space.  We've officially been in this house one year.  I ran out of steam and am getting back to finishing some projects.  This includes bathrooms and walls being painted.  Slow and steady wins the race.

Before
After.  I still need to change the lights because it's pretty dark in there from the dark blue, but I love how it turned out.  I did all those white dots myself.  Kevin did the wood.  It was a lot of trial and error for both of us, but I love peeing in there now.  :)
This is the before pic of the other bathroom.  I didn't get the mirror over the vanity, so you won't be able to see that change, and you can't tell, but there's white wallpaper with navy blue distressed anchors on the walls.

This is after.  Kevin took down the wallpaper, and I painted it a country white.  I spray painted the gold mirror over the vanity to silver.  That's the first time I've done anything like that.  I still need to change the lights, but it looks tons better.  The bee painting over the toilet was an end of the year gift from our old school.  You can't see but all the colors of the painting match the colors of the curtain and rugs.  

I don't even want to forget...

how blessed we are to live where we live in the house we live in.

I am working on...

a new school plan for next year.  The kids are trying something different, and I'm trying a new level of the curriculum I've been using for my teaching.  We'll see how it goes.  I should be more needed than I have been as far as my kids are concerned.

I am reading...

a couple of spiritual books.  I pick up something different each time I have time to read.

I am praying...

for a friend of mine whose funeral I attended today.

I am hearing...

Kevin on the phone, the washer and dryer running, and Marley's voice in the distance.

Around the house...

like I said, catching up on finishing some projects.

One of my favorite things...

Kevin and I get up in the morning and pray together before we start our day.  Sometimes we sleep in and we can't pray together because he's running late, but it happens most mornings.

A few plans for the rest of the week...

well, it's Thursday, so there's not much week left.  Tomorrow is Mass and Adoration for first Friday, a meeting, and I think that's it.  Saturday is Adoration and a birthday party.  I think we'll try to get some things around the house done too.  

Time for pic and tell...

This is the rocket that kept being delayed and such.  Kevin knows more about it than I do, but he didn't get to see it.  Logan and I watched it from our street.  It was cool.  It just appeared and then disappeared.

I can get used to teacher gifts like this.  

Marley went to Starbucks and got a cake pop.  It was shaped like a unicorn.  She was a little excited.

Rory being recognized for graduating this year.

My new steal from a local eclectic vintage store.  She across from the dining room since her colors match the dining room colors.  

Rory loves sparkling pink lemonade, and this is how she drinks it.

My dad has no leaves to blow since it's spring, so he gathers all the cicadas instead.  This pile has grown exponentially.

Last day of school pic.  The high schoolers went a week longer than the grade schoolers, so I had Marley stand in there anyway.  Look at the height on Logan!

This was my view the other day.  Relic knows that Rory is a messy eater, so he sat down the step to the living room and patiently waited for her to drop something.  

This is Logan's happy place, shrimp for days.

This is Logan's other happy place, falling asleep reading.

We took our priest on a pilgrimage to the grotto at our old stomping grounds in Maryland.  I told him that the girls were not fond of cicadas, but he said it would be fine.  I think they interrupted a lot of people praying with the screaming and running.



This Crucifix is at the top of a stairway.  I snapped a pic while someone else was praying.

This is at the bottom of the stairs while Logan's praying.

They tell you not to throw money into the fountain but to put it in the donation slots because they have no way of getting the money out of the fountain.  There's tons of dollar bills along with a bunch of change.  This is also where you fill up on holy water, but we didn't bring any vessels to fill.

This is a statue of St. Mother Teresa.  She's going to be Marley's confirmation saint, so we snapped a pic.

This is also a teacher gift I can get used to.  I'm not a big fan of apple pie, and there are nuts on top that I'm sure would send Rory into an anaphylactic shock, so I'm giving it to my parents.  It's in the freezer, and I've forgotten it the last two times I made the trip.  Ugh.



Friday, May 7, 2021

Happy 18th Rory!!!!!

 Guys, I don't know if you've noticed, but this is another blog in a little bit of time.  This means I could possibly have this summer off!  Just kidding!  Little miss turned 18.  I was going to do a "through the years" blog, but I have too many pictures from celebrating her birthday.  I like just rolling through film and explaining on the way in case you haven't noticed.  Here we go!






Rory's favorite color is yellow.  We mixed purple with it because we had that color, and we managed to get the same color candles to go along with the lavender.  Marley and I were on a roll with all things birthday for Rory.
Rory wanted to go get some new clothes.



Rory in her new clothes eating the cookies she made.  I don't know if you remember from Christmas, but she made a bunch of Captain America cookies with the Christmas cookie batter.  She asked to do the same thing for her birthday.
Rory wanted a GOOD hamburger for her birthday and decided to make it glutenized.  We sat by the window, and the light made her eyes so beautiful!  Too bad she had a mask on.  (Notice she changed clothes)


That's better!




I told Logan I wanted a pic of his eyes with the light in them.  

Then I told him I wanted one that was so teenage angsty. :)

I LOVE hamburgers from this place, but I'm on the wagon.  I had a grilled chicken breast wrapped in lettuce with balsamic grilled asparagus.  I added some sweet potato fries later.
Don't you love this bag?!  It's so Rory because of the sprinkles.  Rory loves sprinkles.

We got her a birthday sash and a tiara to wear out and around for her birthday, but she didn't.  We made it an absolute must for gifts and cake.  (and cue another new shirt but in a different color.)


Rory loves pigs and asked for a real duck for her birthday.  That's a hard no, so we got her a stuffed duck that makes noise and a pig that makes noise.  Relic was all over this pig and thought it was for him.  

I guess we know what to get the dog for Christmas!

Do you see that humongous lion giftbag that Marley got Rory?  It had a nail polish and stickers in it.  

Look at Mars in this pic!  

Logan had Rory's gift finished a while ago.  He made it himself.

It's a Lilo and Stitch diamond painting.  Mars gave it to him from her collection because he purposely wanted to make it for Rory's birthday.

Did I mention her favorite color is yellow?




"You're 18 now.  Cut your own cake!"

She asked for a marble cake.  :)
Then we took her downstairs for Nana and Papa's gift.





Relic liked this too!
We played the Bob Ross drawing game for a couple of rounds.  We all really like this game.  We missed K'lyn cuz she normally kills at this game.  I was going to say we ended the night with this game, but we didn't.  After all was said and done, Kevin and I had a talk in Rory's room letting her know what privileges she now has as an 18yo.   I think she's going to buy a lottery ticket tomorrow just because she can.

Relic is still enjoying all the birthday balloons!









Sunday, May 2, 2021

All Things Prom

What is happening?  I'm blogging, and it hasn't been a month.  :)  I'm trying, guys.  I really am.  Prom was this past weekend, so we went back to our old stomping grounds.  Our new community was having their prom this weekend too, but Rory wanted her senior prom with her old school.  They were all beautiful!


This is how we originally had Rory's hair when we were trying it out.


This is how it ended up because we had the vine going up the sides of her head instead of just in the back.  She looked like a fairy princess.

Because it was her senior year, she participated on the Senior Promenade.  The girls get a rose and get announced with their names, the school they graduate from, and their plans for the future.  Rory's said she was glad to have finished high school.  She wanted them to say that she barely scratched her way through high school, but they wouldn't.  They settled for that she was glad.  

The posse.

It was a long night and a lot fo driving.  Logan stayed at a friend's house in the area which he loved.  Marley loves hotel rooms, so she was happy.  It was a restless night for me and Kevin just because we don't sleep well away from home.  All in all, the plan for the hotel room and everyone getting ready there was a success.  Even though the hotel was literally right across the street from the prom venue, the girls managed to arrive 2 minutes before they closed the doors.  Whew!

 

Two for Two!

  I made it back, and it wasn't that long!  Continuing on with the pic collage of 2026.  Here we roll... January This guy's birthday...