Lorikeets

We started the school year off with a trip to the zoo. We fed the Lorikeets while we were there, and Maddi is STILL talking about the birds sitting on her shoulders and playing in her hair. When we first stepped into the bird oasis, we were rushed by a swarm of hungry little friends. When one started nibbling on Maddi's chunky little fingers, I was sure she'd want to leave, but instead she turned toward the little bird and said in her sweetest little southern-mommy voice, "Oh baby, you hungry? Come here. I feed you." I live for little moments like these.

The End of a Summer

Our summer is over. We are homeschooling again this year, and the kids had a FABULOUS first day. We are completely changing up Drew's schedule. Instead of doing thirty minute segments of every subject, every day, we are enveloping ourselves into one subject each day. Monday's are Math, so we spent hours reviewing multiplication, learning how to multiply in the tens and hundreds places, and doing word problems with calenders and time. I felt like we got so much more accomplished this way and we didn't get bogged down with a mile long to-do list of mini topics. Maddi reviewed counting to ten and then started learning how to add and subtract single digits using gold fish crackers. We also went over our ABC's and letter sounds and even did a little coloring. She is SO HAPPY to do school with Drew this year!
I thought I'd pay some photo homage to our last few weeks of summer break... we spent time with friends & family and even more time chasing around our new pups.

Lately...

I've been a bit overwhelmed. I feel like I'm constantly chasing time. I enjoy having things to do... kind of. I love having work to do, little ones to take care of, puppies to chase after, and school curriculum to plan, but I miss losing myself in a book, editing photos, and catching myself daydreaming.
Here's a little of what we've been up to lately...

We watched Soul Surfer this week, and I LOVED it. The movie was so real (although Carrie Underwood playing a preacher was kind of cheesy), it went through life's ups and downs and questions and accomplishments. It was so simple, yet profound, and I LOVED it.


I read Bossy Pants by Tina Fey. It reminded me to just laugh at life some times, and I found such comfort in knowing that I'm not the only one that desperately struggles to balance work and family and self.


My newest website addiction is Pinterst. I find cute little craft ideas, decorating inspirations, and recipes all over the internet, and now I can click 'pin it' and it adds it to my virtual pinboard under the category that I select. Seriously. I'm in love. Now I don't have to spend hours searching for that cute craft idea I found a few weeks ago or that yummy recipe I saw yesterday. Oh, AND I can see the cute things that my friends pin also, so it's just a swap fest of cuteness.


I've been checking out google+. I've read about it, I've downloaded it on my phone, I'm pretty sure that I want to like it, but it says I need an invite to use but that they aren't giving out invites right now. What the!?! Anybody else using it?


My honey surprised me with this cell phone a few weeks ago. I must admit, I was a bit weary at first. I loved my iphone, and the thought of transferring all of my contacts and my calendar and my music was less than appealing, but this phone is everything that I dreamed a phone could be. I can get all of my favorite apps from the android market, it has office and pdf software on it so I can work more efficiently from it, sharing info through texting and social media is a breeze, and I can download just about any song for FREE. It has made life so much easier.


My poor little laptop is crippled. The hinges locked up and in a haste I kind of ripped the screen right off. So right this very second, I'm typing in a rather uncomfortable position with a pillow shoved behind the computer to hold the screen up. This just isn't working for me. I work too much on this computer to sit in such a contorted fashion, and I need my work to be mobile. My greatest privilege working at home is to be able to be with the kids while I work, and this ghetto set up isn't exactly portable. Now, to the real issue. I hate computer shopping. I know what I need, but I get sidetracked by all of the glitz and technical glamour. I NEED something that's small, portable, and has office on it. Pretty simple right? I WANT a sleek little ipad, but it's just not easy to type on for hours a day. I'm thinking about a little netbook instead of a laptop. I could throw it in my purse and type while the kids are playing at the park with out carrying a suitcase sized computer bag for a regular sized laptop. The only thing holding me up is that they don't have office on them and the software costs almost as much as the computer. Ridiculous right? So many decisions...


Guacamole. I can't. get. enough.
Here's my recipe:
2 avocados, diced
1 plum tomato, diced
1 half onion, diced
about 3 Tbsp of fresh, finely chopped cilantro
1 lime, squeezed
salt and pepper to taste



Well, I guess that's enough randomness for one post. After lunch maybe I can squeeze in a few second of editing. fingers crossed xx