Fixing up the house

This is a picture of the house when we moved in. We've (well, Casey's) done lots of work, but it still looks a little too...new. Hopefully I can dress it up a little more.

Now that we are winding up school for the year, I decided to spend some time thinking about how to get the house in shape over our summer break. I went through each room thinking about what needed to be done and then tried to decide what I might actually be able to get done:) I have had a much easier pregnancy so far this time as far as being sick goes, but my energy level is usually pretty low. I hope having a plan will help me get more done on those days when I have a burst of nesting energy.

I thought of dividing up the summer and doing one room each week. That sounds so organized and efficient, doesn't it? But I work better if I go with my mood and inspiration. When I'm in the mood to work on dressing up the back porch, but it isn't the week I have scheduled for the back porch, then I'll wind up not working on the porch or whatever was on the schedule - nothing gets done!

So I'll look over the list every day and see if there's anything I can get done that day. And I'll have a better idea what supplies to be on the lookout for - fabric for curtains, a pretty planter for the front porch. And, hopefully, once I get in the flow of getting things done, I'll have more energy to move on to the next thing.

For now I'm going to post a few inspirational links so I can find them when I'm drawing a blank on a project.

I really need something for some organization in our play/school room. I also need something large to fill in a big empty wall. One wall has my office-in-an-armoire, but the other wall has toys all lined up in a row - not cute.

See The Nester's kitchen curtains? I think I need them...only blue. And stainproof.

The blue in my living room is too dark, but I love this lighter, summery shade. I'm sure blue and brown is not "in" anymore, but I love it. Now if I just had Meredith's knack for finding beautiful stuff at the thrift store!

I've been dying to do this to the mirror in our guest bathroom. The mirror in our bedroom has two gold mirrors hanging on top of it, which I like so I don't want to mess with it, but this will definitely look better than the mirror in the guest bath.

I need inspiration for lots of other places - the front porch, the back deck, my bedroom! But for now I think I have plenty to get started:)

Keeping Levi busy

Levi's spending a lot of his time working with k'nex. This is his latest creation, for which he wanted a grade - an A of course! We're winding down school for the year so he's finding himself with a little more freetime these days.

In the meantime, I'm finishing up planning for next year and making long lists of things I'd like to get done before Quincy gets here (Quincy means number five, but I have to say we will not actually be naming the baby Quincy - no offense to anyone named Quincy). My brain seems to be working fine, but I'm still to tired to carry out any of my big plans. Hopefully, with plans in place, I can at least get the most important stuff done in those rare bursts of energy.

I'm almost 20 weeks (later this week) - halfway there! We're all sooo excited to have the next sonogram (in two weeks) and see what we can find out about this little guy or girl. Either way we're going to celebrate by trying out the Johnny's Pizza across the street from my doctor's office. For someone who's never been there, Jack is very excited about Johnny's Pizza.

What's in Your Book Basket?

I love books. I especially love finding children's books that the kids and I all enjoy so when I saw this post over at The Happy Houswife's it was just the kick in the pants I needed to share some of the giant stack of books we brought home this week.
Spring Story by Jill Barklem. Brenna and I love these little books about the mice of Brambley Hedge. The artwork is gorgeous and their little homes are so neat and orderly and beautiful. Is it odd that the housekeeping of mice inspires me? I think yes.
The Quiet Way Home by Bonny Becker. I saw this one over at The Homespun Heart and thought it would be perfect for Brenna and I to read. Jack liked it too. It's especially good to read when we're winding down for Quiet Rest Time.
I checked out Sky Tree, My Favorite Tree and Franklin Plants a Tree to read for Arbor Day. We haven't read the Franklin book before but Sky Tree and My Favorite Tree are favorites. Sky Tree is full of beautiful artwork and science. Science is not usually my thing, but this book even holds my attention. My Favorite Tree has lovely pictures and lots of facts about 27 trees native to North America, including Hawaii. It doesn't include my favorite tree, the Pecan, but it does have the Dogwood and that's a close second:)
We also got Little Farm By the Sea. I just love this book. I talked about it before here. I need to just buy this - we've checked it out a couple of times this year. It always makes me wish we had a farm (I know in real life I couldn't pull it off, but I love the idea!).
I also got lots of homeschooling books to gear me up for planning next year. I got a good start on that the other day when Casey kept the kids to give me a little quiet planning time. I was astonished at how much I got done without anyone around. And we got books on the Celts since that's what we're studying for history. And a math book called A Place for Zero that Levi is reading now. And a bunch more that I don't remember! I know we could homeschool without the library, but I sure am glad we don't have to!

A Post About Everything

It's busy and messy and busy around here. We had a great time last week at our homeschool group's Easter Party and spending time with friends who were on Spring Break. I even skipped lessons for a few days so we're making them up this week during our Spring Break:) But all's not lost, we're still taking it easy.
We only have a few weeks left for school this year so I'm doing my annual look back-look forward thing. Casey's given me a day off this weekend to go and sit and plan for next year - I'm borrowing the fellowship hall at my church where I'll have lots of space to spread out (and where it will be QUIET!). Things like this make me so grateful that Casey talked me into getting a laptop:)
We're going to my aunt's house for Easter this year, which is also my birthday! We usually go to my sister-in-law's house so this will be a change for us, but it will be so nice to visit with family that we rarely get to see. But I still haven't decided what to bring!
My new pantry is all set up...I'm anxious to finish the curtains so I can post pictures (if I can get my camera to work). The extra storage space is soooo nice.
I'm 17 weeks long this week so it's time for a little more blood work. I've been taking chlorophyll this time when I remember and so far it really seems to be helping. I'm still quite tired, quite often, but I'm not anemic and that's a big deal for me:) Almost halfway there!
Well, all's quiet here so I think I may take a little QRT myself :)