3 good things

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Good morning. It's day three of homeschooling back to school in our house and I am officially wiped out. Phew. There's a lot to juggle this year. Ten minutes in, when the baby was upstairs crying for me to come help her put on some fancy, frilly dress, and all the girls wanted all my attention, and then that same baby came downstairs and fell off the back of the sofa and was screaming in my arms, I was pretty much ready to call the yellow bus. 

But somehow, at some point, we re-grouped and made it through. And, you know what, it was pretty okay. And I got to the end of the day and thought, "Hey, we did it."

I think I have a little "day in the life" of our first day of school ready to share with you soon. And a post I wrote about technology that I may or may not share. (One of those written in a frustrated place kinds of posts.)

But in the meantime, here are three good things to start your day:

1. From me...speaking of technology, I've really ...

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A few things for Friday + an ask

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I found this scan of an old family picture when I was doing some cleaning out this week. Yes, I'm the somewhat mischevious-looking one holding the stick. And if I remember correctly, I probably got scolded for smacking the stubborn steers as my sister and brother worked with them, walking up and down our long driveway. 

History repeats itself, except this time with lambs. The girls and I are walking, tugging and pleading with these stubborn lambs up and down the lane every night. Each night I silently cross my fingers that we'll have a breakthrough. That the lambs will realize that it's way more enjoyable to walk than to be pulled. So far, no luck. And time is ticking. The fair is exactly two weeks away.  

Our mother would send us up and down the driveway with our steers, our lambs, probably even our pigs at some point. And now, I'm demanding the same of my girls. 

In the meantime, here are a few things for your Friday....

*This is my yearly PSA, reminding you to see your dermatologist for a skin cancer "head to toe" check. I went yesterday, and was reminded how important it is. 

*Made these. So easy. So good. No hot baking required.

*Today's rain and cooler temps means I'm making more of this.

*Shameless request. I was chosen as a finalist for the Red Tricycle Awards for best Mom/Dad blog AND most beautiful Pinterest boards. Woah. Mind blown. Would you take a moment and vote for me? I owe you. 

Mom and Dad Blog:

Vote for Me

 

Pinterest Boards

Vote for Me

*The lovely Caravan Shoppe just launched a project on Kickstarter. 

*I've really loved the direction that Erin Loechner has been taking Design for Mankind. This post, while announcing the launch of her new eyeglass frames collection is just a small example of her lovely words and perspective.

*Love this: Mini-herb garden, rethinking the hanging planter

Happy Friday friends! More soon. xo.

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Love it: Land of Nod Fall Collection

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This summer is flying by and my summer to-do lists are sorely neglected. June was crazy. And July is definitely trying to give June a run for its money. 

But one of the things on my Woodlawn to-do list is to get the girls' bedrooms into a somewhat organized, cleaned out, and paired down state of existence.

 
E + M's room: Before move-in. And before a good mopping, obviously.

The move to Woodlawn meant that Mary and Elizabeth are sharing a bright, airy bedroom together. Not only does it have a closet (Before, we had ONE closet in the whole Thomas Run house!) but it also has a fireplace, for pete's sake! Now, whether

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June 11. A list

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I'm wiped out from this day. So tonight, you're getting a list. Here goes.

*Woke up to a flat tire. My second flat tire this week. But, despite the fact that my tire was shot, my tire guy just happened to have a decent used tire that he sold me for twenty-eight dollars. Done. And thank you.

*Was behind on work, so I thought I'd take my laptop and my little hotspot with me to the tire place. Turns out when you want your laptop to charge overnight in your office, you have to plug in both ends. Productivity while waiting for tire repair? Not so much.

*After the tire place, zipped across the street to the feed mill...

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june 1.

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If you asked me, I'd say we're a family that keeps our social calendar pretty light. More often than not, we're a bunch of homebodies. Maybe it has something to do with Dan's long hours during the week. Or the endless projects that need attention on the weekends. Or the fact that I've always been a stickler about those afternoon naps. 

But today was apparently the most popular day of the year to plan an activity or event because our day was fuller than any I can remember in a very long time. 

Early Saturday morning we had Mary's final recital for the Conservatory of Music. There was much "recital stress" and worry leading up to this morning. But nothing a good shopping trip and acquiring of the "recital dress" can't ease. Of course the recital was wonderful and gave me all sorts of fluttering nostalgia for my own musical history. 

We came home long enough to nibble on cheese and crackers,...

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