7 Quick Takes! A Recap of Life in the Tiny House This Week! Tiny House Before and Afters, Minimalism Meltdown and A Little Math Humor!

1. Three years

Last month officially marked three years of us living in our tiny cottage in the woods. The kitchen is almost finished. Waiting on hubby to finish up a few minor details. Then post for it will be going up. This time of year always makes me curious to go back and look at what it used to look like around here. Are you ready to be blown away?

Here is a before and after and a couple of during photos.

This is now our dining/living

This is now the kitchen/bath

Before we started to rebuild

Before and after

After the front porch was finished

 I'm planning a room by room tour with before and after pics for everyone. There will also be videos, because some of the rooms are hard to take pictures of. A typical issue with really small houses. :)

 Looking back I can't believe we lived here through most of the renovation...or that we did almost all of it ourselves. Many prayers went up during this process. This house was a God given blessing that required a lot of elbow grease and lots of literal blood, sweat and tears. 

2. Oh the Anxiety!

 Nothing strikes more fear in a homeschooling mom/bloggers heart than a computer technology fail! Our computer has been stricken with viruses twice this year. This is the second total wipe and start over. Praise the Lord for the invention of expansion storage to save all of the school stuff and blogging/vlogging media.



The patient seems to have survived. This post is being typed on it.


3. Pumpkin carving and the great pumpkin walk!

 We went to a local pumpkin walk. They let kids come and carve pumpkins during the day, and then in the evening you get to walk through all the lighted pumpkins that are lined out through a field. The cool part to this is the fact that you get to walk through some Native American mounds that you typically have to walk around the perimeter. They had over 250 pumpkins carved and all aglow along the path. It was really neat to see. (I forgot my phone at home. No pictures.)
The funny part was hearing Anna shout "Pumpkins!!!" every 5 feet! That didn't get old after about 50 pumpkins. Nope, not at all.

We also carved pumpkins over the weekend. I did get to take pictures of that!




 4. Cinnamon sweet potato bites

 A new kid friendly post went up on the blog this week. Cinnamon sweet potato bites.
My kids love them. However, a friend told me she tried it but swapped out the sweet potato for butter nut squash. (Something I had also considered trying) Apparently it didn't going over too well. She said one of her children ran to spit it out. Guess I will be crossing that off of the 'recipes to try' list. Thanks for saving me the time S. :)

5. The season of excess has begun!

We all went out to run some errands over the weekend. We went into Menard's to pick up some items for the house and the office. Menard's is already all decked out for Christmas. Not that I am against getting a jump start on holiday shopping. (Some years I try to be finished by Thanksgiving.) I do have to say though that I will never stop being shocked by the excess and even the sheer size of the items that they sell for Christmas. What benefit will anyone ever have from a caterpillar that is over 6 feet long?

*Sigh* **Deep breaths**

My minimalism is showing.

They also had a HUGE gorilla that we thought for sure Anna would love. She is crazy for Curious George. Nope! She CRIED and wouldn't take her suspicious glare off of it until we left the aisle!



6. Odd but delicious

 Last winter our friend Sarah fed us lunch. Sarah has this knack for taking a few simple ingredients and turning it into something absolutely amazing! We decided that we are never quite sure if it is the food or the company that makes the meal so great. Probably both!
 She served us this delicious chicken noodle soup, but it had Ramen noodles(not the seasoning packet) in it. (Hers were the gluten free kind).  She said she had them and just tossed them in.

 Alex has mentioned this soup off and on since January. He has even asked for it to be on the monthly meal plan. I kind of put it off, just because it is simple and we basically always have the ingredients on hand. I think we had it once in the spring.
This week our co-op  was cancelled due to so many people being sick. Well, it turned out to be a blessing. The oldest three came down with something. Cough and cold symptoms with a low grade temp. Nothing major.

It was the perfect day for a pot of soup! I tossed our typical chicken and noodle basics in the pot, but stopped just short of putting the typical egg noddles in. I grabbed some Ramen noodles and tossed those in instead.
It can seem like an odd combination, but it goes over big with the kids. Sarah probably has no idea what she started last winter.

I made 4Qrts of soup and there wasn't a drop left by mid afternoon! Alex is already asking me to make more.

7. Say Perpendicular!

  The weather was so beautiful the last part of this week. It was really hard for some of us all of us to stay focused. We tried to power through and this is where we ended up... In fits of giggles over math terminology. We closed the books and went out to play shortly after I filmed this video. Obviously their brains were done for the day.

Hope you have a beautiful and blessed weekend!

~Lyndsay

7 Quick Takes, A Recap of Life in the Tiny House This Week! Hippie Preacher, Big Thanks, and Don't Eat The Soap!

 September has been a whirlwind of activity.  Some of it was typical and planned, the rest..not so much.

1. The Hippie Preacher

 Once a year, we get a visit from Pastor Duke Hergatt. He calls himself the hippie preacher. He is a lot of fun to listen to. He is also a very smart and gifted preacher. He has read the Bible one hundred eleven times! He and his wife, JoEllen, travel all over the country each year.
 We did not get to go and listen this week because Addison had surgery this week. We are sticking close to home for about a week. Thankfully our church records all of the sermons so we have been able to listen in at home. Such a blessing! You can listen to them here if you would like. I know I never walk away from one of his sermons without having learned many new things.

2. Addison


 Addison's surgery was this week. Everything went smoothly. The incision is a bit bigger than the Dr had described. They were also in the operating room twice as long as they said it normally takes. The Dr said everything went fine though. Now we wait for things to heal, and for test results. Those should be in next week.
She has been a trooper through all of this. She was also rather funny to talk to post surgery. Boys are grouchy and mean after being put under, but girls are sweet and loving. She kept telling everyone how much she loved them and was so thankful for everything. On the way home she even thanked me for being such a safe driver. She's a cutie pie.
 We told her she could have any meal she wanted post surgery. She chose Arby's.
Clearly her procedure did not slow her down too much. Plus, look at the size of this curly fry!



 3. It's a good thing we homeschool!

 The last few weeks has served as a reminder as to why I am thankful we homeschool.  We

had a whole lot of craziness going on the last few weeks. Between birthdays, camping, Dr. appointments, a stomach bug that went through the house and many other things...we didn't always get a lot of school done.(Or Laundry, or cleaning. We ate out a lot more than we normally would. Hey, we do real life here on this blog.)  

You know what? That is one of the many benefits of homeschooling. You can take a break if you need it. You always catch up in the future. We actually had a scheduled week off in there somewhere, that helped. This week we are headed back in the right direction. I despise being behind, but also know that it is part of life.
So, those of you who are stressing about being behind or concern about starting to homeschool, because you are afraid things will get crazy, or you will get off track. Just do it.
 Life gets crazy, we get off track, from where we think we should be. What if you are right where you should be? It is all in God's timing. We are right where we are supposed to be.


4. All the love


 We moved into the tiny house in September 2014. Between renovating the house and having a baby, we didn't get out into the community to meet many people until 2015 or 2016. It took us a while to find our village.
I have to say that I have never been as thankful for our village, as I have been the last couple of weeks. Everyone has been so kind and helpful. Our pastor showed up at the surgery center. Friends and family sent gifts for Addison, lots of messages, calls and texts. A few people even brought food. One friend brought cookies and even helped with some school. Another friend picked up the oldest two and took them to their scheduled activities this week. Including co-op. That friend deserves a medal. Speaking of co-op. That is one heck of a group of ladies!
Between our church family, real family, friends and homeschool family/friends we have really felt the love lately.

Thank you all for all that you do! We love you!




5. Because he loves me, and wants me to be not crazy.


  Since we were sticking close to homes this week. I avoided store trips as much as possible. Since we shopped for a whole month at the beginning of September, it wasn't too big of a deal. We mainly just had to pop into the store for milk, eggs and of course we would get some produce from the farmers market.
  I asked Dustin to stop into the pharmacy for some milk and bandages for Addison. He brought the milk and bandages. He also surprised me with this. He said it made him think of me. Awe. He's a keeper.
He also added that I had had a hard week and figured I needed it. He knows me well!






6. There's a fine line between soap and dessert

 A wonderful mother at co-op, makes soap. It smells amazing, leaves your skin so soft and it is organic. She gave one to each of the mothers who had her children in a class. I grabbed a honey oatmeal. It is amazing. I was planning to message her and order some more. Then I had the thought of  'I wonder how hard it would be to make our own.' off to Pinterest I went!

 I did a lot of researching and reading. The basics don't sound too hard. I fully intend to give it a try in the near future. For now I will be placing an order with the other Mom. Clearly she has it figured out. She has at least 7 different types that she makes.

 By the time I was done researching basic soap making, I ended up back on Pinterest. It was getting pretty late into the evening. Then all of the really fancy soaps started popping up. I was having to check the actually descriptions to be sure it was soap and not a dessert.
Seriously, there is a fine line between soap and dessert. Look at these things!

 

After I started craving a cup of coffee and a slice of pumpkin pie...I figured it was time to walk away from Pinterest for the night.

Then I fell into the homemade make up rabbit hole. That's a story for another day. 

7. Things we made this week.

  Since we had to stick close to home this week. It gave me the chance to get some actual cooking done. We had Chili, Sausage Stuffed Peppers, and homemade pizza.

We also had some flourless peanut butter chocolate chip cookies and there is also a big pot of apple butter in the works.

What was in your kitchen this week?

Hope you had a great week!

Blessings,

~Lyndsay

7 Quick Takes, A Recap of Life in the Tiny House This Week! My People, Run All The Hills And Yet Another Reason To Not Get Old!

It's Friday. Some weeks we sail through and life is good. We complete the week on top of the world. Then, there are weeks like this. You get to the end of the week by prayer, living on leftovers and lots of coffee.

Ok, it's not really that bad. But I'm glad this particular week is over. 
 

1. I Found MY People!

  This was week two of school for us. It was also our first week of co-op! It was a great first day of co-op. We were only about 5 minutes late getting there. Thankfully, almost everyone else is was late too. Clearly, I have found my people.

2. Cat Scratch Fever Take Two

  Addison is seeing a specialist for her cat scratch fever. Apparently her lymph nodes have continued to grow despite antibiotics. So, off we go to another Dr appointment. :( The Dr said it shows all the signs of being benign. However, the size and shape warrant an extra look. and probably some testing.
Prayers would be appreciated.

3. Run All The Hills

  We had cross country on Tuesday. I did not get to stay for it because I had to rush Anna to urgent care. However, I hear from the kids that their first race is in two weeks. They are so excited. Despite the fact that our first race has what has been described by everyone as 'the killer hill'.

 Raise your hand if you are glad you are not on the 3-6th grade cross country team this year. ✋

4. Kitchen Update
 
 After about a month of things being on hold, the kitchen renovation is moving forward! Part of the wainscotting went up last weekend the rest is coming this weekend. I have been told I will be painting this coming week. We are so excited to have the kitchen finished!





5. 0-Screaming in 60 Seconds




 This little one had a slightly rough week.  She kept crying out in pain, and just generally screaming.  She was not able to sleep and was refusing to eat. But sadly she isn't old enough to tell us what hurts. This all took place in the course of about 9 hours. It didn't get really bad until after the Dr office had already closed. Isn't that how it always works?
 I ended up rushing her to urgent care right in the middle of cross country practice.(So thankful for friends who are always on call.) Mainly because she was acting like the pain was in her belly or legs. My mommy radar was going off. Thankfully it was only double ear infections. :(  A couple days of Motrin and antibiotics and she is well on her way to being better. Praise the Lord!

6. Reasons not to get old.
 
 We managed to pull off a family day on Saturday. We went out to lunch, did some shopping for the office and Dustin and I got new kicks. This is actually a big deal for us. He only buys work boots about once every three years. Also, I hate spending money on myself. Especially the price I had to pay for these shoes to help with my old people feet syndrome. Don't get old people, it's not fun!

 

We also got a new coffee pot and mini fridge for the office.  That was actually fun to buy though!

7. WWI 

We have been studying WWI this month. We have learned a lot and enjoyed it also. Alex has taken it one step farther and has been designing WWI trading cards to make and give to his friends. I'm not positive if these will make it all the way to print and circulate but I sure do like admiring his work.  

Happy Friday!

~Lyndsay

7 Quick Takes, A Recap of Life in The Tiny House This Week! Tooth Fairy Fail, Shockingly Accurate Emoji's and Meet Precious

 It's Friday! 

That means it is 7 Quick Takes day! The day every week that I entertain you with the happenings of our life in the tiny house this week. 

It might be funny (It tends to be funny), entertaining or down right bizarre! But that's why you keep coming back to read it..because no one wants to read about boring. 

The scary part? All of it is true. Yes. Our lives really are this ridiculous, goofy and weird. Every. Single. Day.

Welcome to our tiny little part of the world. Pull up a chair, but wipe it off first...because it is probably sticky...Everything is always sticky.



1. Tooth Fairy Fail

I have never been great with the whole tooth fairy thing. My children are convinced that she is a busy, frazzled, unorganized, disheveled and forgetful little fairy. She tends to forget their tooth for a night or two. She sometimes neglects to collect their teeth and she even sometimes makes an appearance after they have gotten up in the morning.

I told you I was bad at this. Really, really bad. That being said, this is about Addison, age 6.

She has managed to LOSE two teeth. Not lose in the 'Yay! I lost my tooth!'kind of way.

No. No. We are talking 'Mom, My mouth feels funny. I was picking and eating apples and now there is this weird space.'

AND

While eating popcorn this week 'Mom, I lost my tooth. But I think I ate it.'

Yes. She has lost/eaten two teeth in the matter of a two month period!  
(I have considered googling the possible dietary repercussions, but I'm not sure I want to know.)

The tooth eating situation has made the fairy visits a bit more complicated. Addison resorted to making teeth out of paper. The fairy remembered the paper the first time. The second time, not so much. I told her the tooth fairy emailed me and told her to just hang onto it for the next time around. She efficient like that. 
Yes, our tooth fairy has an email address. She is a busy little thing and is sometimes up to three days behind on her email and tooth pick up. I told you I was bad at this! 

Also, for those who are curious. Our fairy is old school. She pays out $1 per tooth. Anyone who tells my children differently are subject to inflicted injury.  Seriously people, who ever came up with the idea of paying $5-20 per tooth?! 

2. First Week of School


 

School started at the tiny house this week. This year we have a 6th, 4th and 1st grader. Plus a fun filled and spunky toddler. So she has to be kept busy, organized and on schedule.
The first week went well. Everyone was very worn out by our last day.(They are currently still sleeping while I type this at 8:15 am)  This year's school curriculum has seen a lot if changes. Good changes, but a lot of new things to adjust to. They all handled it well and have been rising to the challenge. We are all excited to see how much we learn and grow this year.  
I know that a lot of families take the super relaxed, sleep until 10, do school in your pajamas route. That was us at one point in time, but now there are just too many kids in older grades to be so relaxed.

Everyone is up, dressed, morning chores, and breakfast by 7:45. School starts at 8. There's a lot to learn this year. Structure is necessary.
That being said. We still have a lot of fun!
We do fun science experiments, go on field trips and laugh a lot. Structure doesn't necessarily mean strict.

Here are a couple of pictures from our first week. The big excitement was for Addison. She earned an A+ on her first ever spelling test.

3. County Fair



We have lived in our new town for almost 3 years now. We love our new town. This was the first time we went to the County Fair.
We all enjoyed it. Dustin goes for the food. Funnel cakes, steak sandwiches, lemonade, elephant ears, Italian sausages, pizza, French fries...you get the idea. It was a real treat for the kids and the husband.

I fell in love with the barns and exhibits. It was laid out well. At least compared to our old town. I was quite impressed. (We bled green for 4H when I was a kid. So, my fun version of the fair is the exact opposite of my husband.)

The kids convinced us to let them ride some rides. The oldest three are adventurous and love anything that spins. They went on this at least twice.

 

 They played some games...which I was a bit disappointed by. Apparently you win a prize every time, even if you suck. Yep, that's what our world has come to. It's sad. Basically it worked like this, pay $3-5 and they hand you a fidget spinner. Rant over.




Anna rode a pony ride and walked with me through all of the exhibit buildings. Plus it took me a little while but I found my happy place. The rabbit and poultry barn!



Over all, we really like our new county Fair. I Definitely see us attending again in the future.

4. Park Day

We went to the park with some friends one afternoon this week. We visited the biggest park in our town. We hadn't been there in a while. We tend to be park hoppers.
The oldest kids ran off to be wild and free and we played with the littles and chatted for a while. It was good for the kids and the moms. The only thing missing was some iced coffee.

* The older boys couldn't be troubled by standing still for pictures. They were far too busy for that.*

5. Fun Science

Have you ever microwaved Ivory Soap?!

It is so much fun!
 It is of course a science experiment and there is actual science behind it. However, the best part is what actually happens when you do microwave it.
You can find the science behind it here.
You can also read about the happy accident that created Ivory Soap, here.
Here are the pictures from our experiment.
The kids really enjoyed this one!

 

If you homeschool or even if you don't....you should consider giving this a try!

 











6. A Shockingly Accurate Emoji

Poor Addison. She has had a bit of a rough summer. She caught some strange 'Scarlet fever like' virus along with poison ivy. Lots of meds including steroids.
She managed to get poison ivy two other times. Bad enough for meds. She is a tad bit allergic to poison ivy.
Last month I noticed she had picked up a fungus on her thumb nails. We've been treating that.
Two weeks ago I found one really swollen lymph node on her neck. Apparently she had three very large lymph nodes. Yet another trip to the Dr to find out she has 'Cat Scratch Fever'. Yes. Not only did they make a song about it, but it is actually a real thing. More medicines and a new med for her fingernail.

She is tired of all this and so am I. She has however enjoyed picking out the Band-aids to cover her finger nail. Her most recent choice was themed Emojis.

As much as I do not get into all of the recent fads. This one pretty much sums up how we feel right now.


I am officially in the market for an Addison sized germ bubble.


7. His Precious

A couple weeks ago this conversation took place between Dustin and I.




*He never did reply back with the cost to fix it.*
 
Of course you can imagine that this rather interesting  and slightly frightening creation is now parked in the office garage.
Alex and Dustin are starting work on it tomorrow.
It has since been dubbed 'Precious' and it has stuck. Even the toddler is saying it. The kids are not up to date on why it is funny, but have played along. We have shown them the short video clips, but have decided that it just doesn't do it justice.




A Lord of the Rings binge watch is scheduled for the first rainy weekend in September.

Raising them right. ;)

For those of you who understand why this is funny. I have included the clip. Just because. It made me a little sad to realize that there is now an entire generation of kids who know nothing about this. Not because we are that into Lord of The Rings, but because it mad me feel SO OLD!

Happy Friday!

~Lyndsay