7 Quick Takes, A Recap of Life in The Tiny House This Week! Picking My Least Favorite Kid, Kitchen Update and How Weird It Was Having Only Two Kids!

 Hello and happy September! September is one of my favorite months. Two of our kiddos have birthdays this month and fall is my favorite season. As well as September first kicks off the season of all things pumpkin!(and apples, but nobody really cares about the apples.) Eek!

 It's seven quick takes Friday! The day every week that I share our week with you. This one is going up a bit late. Better late than never, right? I wanted to get up and get an early start with our adventure for the day. (See #7 ;) ) We have had a good, full, crazy and fun week. We saw friends, learned new things and even went to the park. 

  We also remembered to stop what we were doing and take a moment to be thankful for our health, family, food and shelter. We took some extra time to pray for those suffering in Texas. 

Many prayers are being sent to those who have been effected by hurricane Harvey. 

Now for this weeks Seven Quick Takes...



1.What does Daddy make?

 Dustin has taken great joy and pride is asking Anna 'What did Daddy make?' He worked with her for weeks and she will now get all excited and walk around the house pointing at all the stuff he has made, installed or assembled. It is a lengthy list by the way. 
Now she will proudly march through the house and point at basically everything announcing 'Daddy!' and nodding her head.
Recently during one of their 'What did Daddy make?' sessions, we asked her 'What did Mommy make?' She thought very hard for a moment and announced, 'Babies!'
We all agreed that she was right, and entirely too smart for her own good!

2. Why I should never paint when he is home.

  I will never embrace the mess that progress makes. The kitchen is slowly moving forward. Dustin  worked all last weekend. I painted off and on as well. He did the grout on the back splash. My kitchen was such a mess, we ate out for two days. The grout looks great, but, oh the mess!




I also realized that I should not paint when Dustin is home. I randomly find him standing nearby watching, which makes me nervous and then I mess up. It is very unnerving.

 

He also saw a first hand look at how I edge the floor. He has never been home when I did it. So I never told him how I do it. Pretty sure he almost had a heart attack. He doesn't do well with coloring outside the lines.  
Honestly, though, it is the best way to get all of the wood covered and make an even coverage all the way to the floor. I scrub it all off after it is done and no one ever knows. ;)



3. Precious update

 Most of the parts came in for Precious this week. One of Alex's 'Handicrafts' for school is basic mechanics this year. Dustin and Alex spent a couple hours taking the engine apart. This thing is one of the dirtiest pieces of machinery I have ever seen. Alex was covered head to toe by the time they were done. Dustin said he is learning quickly. They both are looking forward to putting her back together.



4. Two kids

 The younger two kiddos stayed the night at a friends house this week so we could spend some time with the older two. We took them to see a historical dramatic play. We also told them they could 'Go wild!' at the snack shack. It was sort of cool hanging out with just two big kids. They had a lot of fun as well.

 

We went to the play, and then did a late night run to Steak and Shake for shakes on the way home. We even told them they could stay up as late as they wanted. They also got to meet some of the cast. They felt pretty special by the end of the night. Dustin and I both kept commenting how different it was having just two big kids. It was kind of weird and a little too calm and quiet.
This also happened to be Anna's first ever night away from Mom and Dad. She did great and so did Mommy.


5. Run the hills!

 

Emma's first cross country race was this week. She and her team mates all did a great job! This was the hardest race of the season. It is a mile long track with two big hills. One being at the very end, with the finish line at the top! Also, it poured the rain the entire time.
 Emma's time was 9:59, not bad considering the hills, rain and being a course she didn't even get a chance to walk before the race. She is very proud and loving being healthy enough for real sports.
This time two years ago she couldn't even go outside for more than five minutes without needing extra medicine and a nap. Now she runs/walks 5-10 miles a week. That's not including just being a kid and having fun, her strength training for CC and gym class at co-op.


6. Week four

This was our fourth week back to school for the year. The kids are all doing well and enjoying their work. A couple of them have really had to step up their game with school, but that is normal with getting older. You have to be pushed and try to grow and change. I'm so proud of them and their accomplishments.
I did not snap many pictures of them this week. Life has been down right crazy, in a good way! I did snap this one of them this week.



7.  Once a month shopping!

 I have wanted to attempt planning and shopping monthly for a long time. I have toyed around with the idea for a while. Dustin's pay schedule just never made it seem feasible. Plus there was the challenge of storing a months worth of food in a 'tiny house'.
With the new business being up and running. We have changed how often we get payed. I realized about a month or so into our new venture that I would be able to give 'Once a month shopping' a try. I started it a bit last month, wanting to ease myself in. I bought the months worth of meats and canned goods.
This month, I did the whole month (Minus some produce and milk) in one big haul! I menu planned, budgeted and prepared. My main worry was not forgetting anything and making sure it didn't go over budget on paper. (I always over estimate)
All of it went over so well today! The budget fell into place and the list went well. The only thing I didn't account for...the space in my van + the kids + a months worth of groceries! It was a super tight squeeze. Thankfully Alex was not with us, or I might have had to pick my least favorite child for the day and leave that one behind at Aldi.;)
All of the groceries are now safely tucked away in the cabinets, freezer and fridge. Every cabinet, the fridge and the deep freeze all look like a high stakes game of Jenga!
I will be updating the blog with how the monthly meal plan goes for us. I have a feeling it will change and grow over time. For today, day 1, it is going great!  



 I hope you all had a blessed mess of a week, like we did. The days may be long but the years are way too short! 

Blessings!

~Lyndsay 

 Now I am off to have a cup of decaf coffee with pumpkin spice creamer. It is September and that means everything is pumpkin flavored! From now until January! #Happy Dance
 I'm so excited!!

7 Quick Takes, A Recap of Life in The Tiny House This Week! Two Birthdays, Roasted Zombie Flesh, Old Lady Shoes and Crazy Toddlers!

Hi! Did you miss me? Life has been a little crazy, and I sort of didn't get to write, or shower regularly and I forgot to eat a few times. Don't worry, I'll catch you up!

Grab a coffee (Is it pumpkin?) and take a seat. Here comes three weeks of Seven Quick Takes all rolled into one! That probably makes it more like 21 takes, but I promise to keep it brief.


1. Two birthdays, one party, and a girls only shopping trip.

Emma and Anna both have September birthdays. They also just so happen to fall two days apart. So that means this non birthday party planning Mama has to actually try a little bit. We tossed together a small joint party for the girls. Emma also requested a girls only lunch and shopping trip with her sister Addison. Emma chose Olive Garden. She didn't  realize that her free  birthday dessert would come with a group of waiters and waitresses singing,  Happy birthday. She was just slightly embarrassed.
We also crammed in some winter clothes shopping for everyone. It was a good weekend.


2.  Canning applesauce and a small kitchen fire.

It's fall. That means it's apple time! We already canned one bushel of apples with one more sitting in the kitchen. This batch will probably be part apple butter.With one more bushel on the way. That one will be apple pie filling.
I did accidentally catch a towel on fire in the process of making this batch of applesauce.
I saw the flames and started yelling 'Fire' while simultaneously putting it out. The children found this exceedingly funny. Emma sliced her finger while peeling apples. Anna put them in her stroller and scattered them all through the house. We ended up doing an apple hunt to find them all. Nothing has started to smell. I'm assuming we found them all. Alex avoided the whole process in true preteen boy fashion and Addison was around. More on her later.



The applesauce is really good. I can't seem to keep the kids out of it. We're calling it a success!


3. Camping next to the bathrooms and roasting zombie flesh over the fire.

We went camping with some friends. Four adults, 7 kids and an entire city's worth of tents. It was fun, exhausting and totally worth all the work. Google maps failed us just a bit with this trip. We went to a place neither family had camped before. Google maps claimed we would be 15-20 yards from a bathroom. Nope. It was 15 feet! It will forever go down in history as the time we camped next to the bathroom and the waste water dump. Lol



 I really wasn't kidding. There is the bathroom right behind Alex!










We fished, swam, built sandcastles, sang songs around the fire(Alex and the boys put on a small church service Sunday morning.), went out for ice cream, went star tipping, rode bikes, played cards, ate delicious food, chased the toddler and  drank lots of coffee. The playground near the campsite had a zip line. That went over well!



The parents enjoyed it as well. But we all know we only really do it for the kids.



We decided to cook bacon over the fire our last morning before loading everything up. The fire wasn't wanting to take, the griddle area wasn't cooking the bacon and everyone was hungry. So we improvised. We put the bacon, accordion style, on the marshmallow sticks and roasted it over the flames. We accomplished our task, but the bacon turned grey and black from the smoke. One of the Dad's commented that it looked like zombie flesh..and the kids just went with it.



                 Roasted zombie flesh = Good


 

4. She's got skills!

Anna is two now. It's been interesting watching her turn into the person she is going to be. She is talking so much. She thinks goldfish crackers are the only food group and her favorite things are playing Mommy, cooking with her play food (She received three new sets for her birthday!), shutting all the doors in the house and coloring...on the walls.
Here's a small recap of the life of Anna the last couple weeks.
Remember the busy boxes? Yeah, she found them when my head was turned. They will never be the same again.






I did not get a chance to sort and organize her toys after her birthday. In all honesty, I still haven't done it. Life has been a bit crazy the last few weeks. This is a prime example of why we limit the access to the toys in our tiny house. Because it looks like this. She is always so proud when she dumps it all out like this.

 










 Call me crazy but I think all two yr olds should have a baby and a stroller. My kids have always loved them. We have worn out at least four of them over the years.
This has made me laugh so many times recently. Anna despises all things with straps that can restrain her. Her car seat, stroller, high chair etc. However, we can't keep her out of this baby stroller. She buckles herself in and sits there for a while. Then she starts yelling for someone to "Buckle!" and free her from her self imposed prison. I'll never understand it, but I will forever find it entertaining.

 

5.  Remember when the kids got to be Doughoys?

We received a copy of the Historical Society's newsletter last week. We were surprised to see that the kids and their friends made the front cover!



6. A few random things.

-Business has been going good at the new shop. Dustin had a fire engine to work in two weeks ago. The shouts from the back of the van were almost deafening when I pulled onto the lot that day.

-Sometimes you have to take the entire body off of a vehicle to get to the engine. I've seen it quite  few times over the years. But people find it cool. So here you go, a little bit of awesome from the tiny house family's business. ;)

 

-While camping, our friends introduced me to this little beauty. It is  a Chemex coffee maker. It is amazing. It is my new best friend! It makes the most delicious, and strong coffee. Amazing!

 

- It is occurring to me that this guy hasn't showed up too much in the blog lately. So, you get a picture of my handsome young man. I had to take him to the Dr this week for a stomach bug. He was 5'5"! He can slow down now. He said his ultimate goal is to be taller then his Dad. I don't think it will be long. It is a good thing the boy loves basketball.

 

- I little about me... Dustin bought me some more of my favorite shirts. They have fun/encouraging sayings.  I love them. I also found some shoes with a supportive arch that I absolutely love. I realize I have crossed over into the old lady/mom shoes/fashion. I'm a lot more ok with it than I thought I would be. There has been a lot going on around here lately. Stuff that reminds me of when Emma was really sick. I have to say that I'm not a fan and so, so ready for all of this to hopefully be resolved soon and for life to be a bit more normal. I'm doing my best to keep everyone held together. They are all still here and accounted for, so that's a good thing. This Mama is wearing down fast. Im super thankful for our support system, my husband and our God. God is good. There is a plan, there is a reason much bigger than all of us.

 

- Emma is still doing cross country. Her mile is under 9 minutes now! She is so proud of herself.

- Dustin got a new toy. He got one of those outdoor cookers. He made us this amazingly delicious seafood steam pot dinner. We all enjoyed it so much.

 

7. An Addison update and a prayer request.

Do you remember when I commented about Addison having a rough summer? 

If you do not, then you can catch up on the link provided above. She has had some really odd things going on this summer. We though it was just a few little things that were just that...little things. Turns out that isn't the case. All of those little things were just symptoms of one big thing. I can't give out too many details just yet. However, I can tell you that she has went un-diagnosed for almost six months, despite us taking her to the Dr. multiple times.

We are still sorting things out and waiting for test results.She is scheduled for surgery Monday morning, to have at least one lymph node removed and biopsied in her neck. Then we will be waiting for even more test results. Then we will know what direction we will be heading after that.

We are trusting in God, praying a lot and keeping her calm. She is not ok with the idea of having stitches and a scar. She doesn't exactly know what is going on. She is six. However she is one smart cookie and understands more than we probably realize. Her main fear at the moment is the stitches and the scar. 

Please keep Addison in your prayers.

Thank to any and all who stop by and read our blog. Our lives are crazy, blessed and a bit of a mess. We will get through this and move forward. God is good all the time.

~Lyndsay