Rainy Days + Cream Cheese Danishes

Happy Friday, Y'all! I don't know about you but I am *definitely* ready for the weekend. Especially because I am headed to Nashville this evening to spend 48 hours with my big brother and his wife! 

This week, didn't get to do too many school lessons due to a LOT of illness (bronchitis + fevers, double boo!); but we enjoyed coloring hearts for Valentine's Day and the down time that we had together.  

In between the coloring and many books read, the kids were able to play together surprisingly well this week. Like, extreme laughter and silly inside jokes, going back and forth between their bedrooms playing with dolls and Legos. But A LOT of time also looked like this: 

Thursday night I was feeling ansy and as everyone in Kentucky is, VERY sick of the rain. I have a hard enough time finding inspiration and motivation in the winter months here, so 90% of the time my inspiration comes through baking. We made homemade Cream Cheese Danishes with Pillsbury crescent rolls and guys, they are SO good. 

And Thursday night we had some friends over from our new church and it was amazing to have some ADULT time. Ha! Asa made his homemade chicken tikka masala, we shared stories, and stayed up way past our bedtime. This week the kids have really struggled with staying asleep (more so than usual) which is to be expected with their terrible coughs and fevers, but I am feeling way more wiped than usual. Anyone else just REALLY ready for some down time this weekend!? 

PS: In Nashville, I am photographing the next gal for my Beloved Woman series and I am so excited!! Stay tuned! 

Counting, Cookies, and Treadmill Fails

The first FULL week doing this whole SAHM thang and I think we made it!! So far I don't have a set plan or lessons that I want to do with the kids. With Pierson being 4 and Reese 3, [and only 15 months apart], it often looks like the 'work' I plan being too simple for him and taking a little bit longer for her. So I'm definitely learning and I'm learning the give and take of it all. Right now the solid thing we do each day is after (or during) breakfast, I let them pick a Bible story for me to read at the table. Then we talk about the people, what happened, and what that all means for their lives now.

We did a 'snowball counting' activity with cotton balls; sorting them on to the specific papers. Then we made a mitten craft and practiced cutting, coloring, and gluing pompoms on to the mittens. Pierson checked out a Magic School Bus book out from the library and he's been *obsessed* with reading it. It's all about how water gets from one place to another. It was his idea to start a 'chart' like the students do in the book, and I just love that his mind is spinning and creating so much fun stuff!

Thursday it was rainy and grey and SUPER dreary, so after our morning walk [we got out in between rain spells!] we baked tons of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies [recipe will be on here soon!] They are quite possibly the best ones I've made, and the kids of course loved tasting the dough [my favorite part.]

This month I am reading Present Over Perfect and am really enjoying it. While the kids [didn't] nap, I told myself to stop working, stop e-mailing, stop cleaning... and just read a chapter or two. And eat a few cookies of course. I am definitely enjoying this time home; it's a very different kind of tired for me though. Lots of people have asked how I'm adjusting. I love it, a lot, but I've noticed that come 8 o'clock bedtimes I feel maybe even *more* worn out than I did while teaching? I think because I've been with them since 8a.m. and have done laundry, emptied the dishwasher, done dishes, taken out the trash, cleaned up rooms, worked through time-outs, planned 'school' lessons, and amidst their night time wake-ups, it's just different! Oh, and I'm not face to face with other adults ALL day long so that whole socializing my entire life has desperately gone down a notch...I know you other SAHM know exactly what I mean and you're probably like, 'Duh, what'd you think you'd be doing?' Ha. Well, one week in and I feel ya, friends!

Now what you've REALLY been waiting for [if you follow me on Facebook or Instagram especially]..... my epic treadmill FAIL that happened at the gym last night. One of my brides works out at our gym and got me the footage. Yes, it did hurt, but yes, I am okay! [Thank God!] And this video was edited by my very concerned (kidding, but it's okay) brother Sean, who runs Hey World Productions in Nashville. Music people, check him outtttt, woot woot!