Three Things This Thursday

UPDATE:
We did all go boating last night with Mark's cousin.  It was the perfect night to be out on the water!  And, so relaxing!  I think I could absolutely live in a houseboat.  The girls had a fantastic time too and have already asked when we're doing it again (which we really need to do because I totally forgot to bring the camera with me).  
Lily was pretty subdued the entire time, but this morning she told me she had fun too.  Her cough is still definitely there today.  Still she's far more active and talkative so far, and that's encouraging.  Hopefully she'll be well enough to drive up to see my family!  I'm just going to keep doing nebs q6 (every 6 hours), and hopefully that'll take care of it without having to start her on oral steroids.      
Michelle over at Psalms 104:24 hosts Three Things Thursday.  Some weeks I have it together enough to join in.  This is not necessarily one of those weeks, but I'm feeling guilty for neglecting the blog again.  With no further ado, let me share three random things that have been keeping me away from blogging lately.

1.  Organizing.  Lily and Leah tore apart their room a couple of weeks ago.  It was completely hideous!  I've worked with them to pick things up, but they just tear it apart again.  And, it doesn't help that we were gone most of last week, so nothing has really gotten done in there.  Slowly, but surely, I'm trying to tackle all of these organizing projects that have not been #1 priorities during the school year.

2.  Cakes.  My sister turns 29 on the 29th, so I'm planning to take the girls up there.  They are so excited to see Grandma, Grandpa, Auntie, Uncle, and their cousins!  The cake I'm planning on making will be a dark chocolate almond sour cream cake with chocolate almond mousse filling.  I will definitely post pics when it's done, but since she does check this blog, I'm not going to say what cake design I'll be using.  That part is a surprise!    

3.  Summer Colds.  Lily is sick again.  Some days are worse than others.  She had a couple of really rough days last week, coughing until she threw up (mostly mucous), etc.  Mostly, she seemed to be perking up though.  Then, Monday night happened - throwing up in bed (not just mucous), which required a bath and new bed sheets (and moving a sleeping Leah), nebs, Tylenol for a fever, and then O2 because her sats were low.  By Tuesday afternoon though, she was doing better.  Yesterday was fine.  Today?  Not so much.  She's mildly feverish again, and her O2 sats are on the lower end of acceptable.  Hopefully she perks up again, because we're supposed to go boating with Mark's cousins.  

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Oh, and yes, I did change the blog layout again.  I like this one.  It seems less busy.  I also updated the pic at the top.  Unfortunately I don't have a good, recent pic of all three girls.  Will have to keep working on that one.....  

And, now I'm off to start dinner!  Happy Thursday everyone!

They grow up so fast

I was thinking this morning that I have really been neglecting my blog lately.  While browsing iPhoto, I found these somewhat recent pictures of the girls playing at the park, which reminded me of these not-so-recent photos of the girls playing at the same park.  Hope you enjoy a little time travel because it's time to take a little trip down memory lane.

Baby Leah

Big 5 y/o Leah (sniffle sniffle)

Baby Lily (with a trach and the Little Orphan Annie curls)

Big 5 y/o Lily who takes her first slide at the park all by herself!

Little tiny Elise.

Big 7 y/o Elise!

Growing up seems to languish when you're a kid, but flies by at records speeds when you're the parent.  I know I will be taking some extra time today to savor these special summer days with my girls, perhaps with some "Summer Celebration" cookies (Elise's idea)!  

Happy summer!

Three Things Thursday

Michelle from Psalms 104:24 hosts Three Things This Thursday.  It's just a fun, quick way to share a few random things from the last week.  Because I feel completely worn out, I'm just going to get right into it...

1.  Two words:  SUMMER VACATION!!!  I don't think I've EVER been so excited for it, not even when I was a kid!  This year of homeschooling has been really rough at times.  Don't get me wrong.  I love being home, and I love seeing her learn new things, but the whole non-compliant attitude thing I could easily do without.  It frustrates me to no end, and that makes the situation worse for both of us.  We're still debating about next year.  For now, I'm moving forward with plans to continue homeschooling while researching a new curriculum.  I'd love to use Sonlight, but it can be a bit pricey.  Either way, I know I'll be homeschooling the twins for Kindergarten.  In the meantime, we'll just keep praying about it.  I feel like, if Elise and I can come to a good understanding and work well together next year, then the benefits will be tremendous.    

2.  Baking is in full swing again.  Yesterday I baked 2 loaves of sandwich bread using this recipe (however, I used 3 cups whole white wheat flour and 1/2 cup all purpose), and one batch of sugar-free banana bread tweaked from this recipe.  (I like to increase the cinnamon and nutmeg, and I also added a bit of allspice this time.  Oh, and this time, because I didn't have quite enough banana to make 2 cups, I did add just a little honey--about 2-3 tsp.)  I think it was my best batch so far!  Today, I baked Rhubarb Crumble from my grandma's recipe, using melted coconut oil instead of the melted shortening.  Still just as tasty, and completely trans-fat free (no partially hydrogenated oils)!  

3.  Have I mentioned that I'm really excited for summer vacation yet?  Oh, I have?  Hmmmm....well, okay, how about this:  I started working on a seasonal clothing switcheroo about 2 weeks ago, and I still haven't finished the twins' room yet!  I've gotten most of their summer things put away (still a few items that will require trying on), and their winter stuff is out of their drawers and closets.  The problem is that most of their winter stuff is waiting in piles on the floor for me to have time to organize and pack away (some we'll keep, and some we won't, so I have to decide all of that too).  I haven't been able to work on it during the day because of homeschool, and I haven't been able to work on it at night because they're sleeping in that room.  So, it sits, and waits for a Sunday when I don't actually have anything else planned (like hopefully this Sunday, as I doubt I'll be able to do much in there tomorrow).  After that, I get to tackle Elise's room!  

Hidden track:  (For fun, I'm including a really old photo of me that was taken about 6-1/2 years ago.  It was taken at Christmastime.  We were at Mark's uncle's farm, and that's a brand new pygmy goat I'm holding.)