Just Checking In . . .

The weather outside is . . . 

Perfect. 70's and blue skies just about every day. I can live with this. Now just to be able to make more time to get out IN it, that's the key! That's the tricky part.

I'm listening to . . .

The loud hum of the dehumidifier and children every now and then. It's not humid but Doug keeps a tight rein on the humidity in the basement. The boys have a short break before the rest of our lessons for today: reading, grammar, either or both science and history.

In the kitchen . . .

Simplifying more and more. I think the kids will be holding me to pumpkin pancakes once a week for a while. I'll hold out as long as I can for them. And I sure would hate for fall to go by without making an apple pie. We'll see about that one. I'm mostly concentrating on low-effort dinners for us. We had two great ones last week that I just have to share. Try them! Easy and delish. I loved these! Roasted Pear and Gorgonzola Turkey Burger.     I haven't acquired the taste for blue cheeses, so I substituted goat cheese instead. I loved the substitution. Doug loved these: Creamy Chicken and Herb Skillet. So easy and quick! It was so good, I had to pull myself away from the table. I'm so glad to have fresh herbs near the house for dishes like that one.

In the garden . . .

We have one pumpkin left to harvest and a bunch of carrots to dig up. I also have some tomatoes to pick as well. Funny thing those tomatoes. I didn't plant them! They reseeded from last year! I saw the tiny plants and had thought they would come to nothing. I probably would have just pulled them out like weeds. Good thing Ms. Julie didn't! When Doug and Julie came to visit, Julie weeded around the lettuce and found the tiny tomato plants. She weeded all around them and left them there to THRIVE! Those tomatoes are producing more than my other plants!  LOL! Go Julie!!

On my nightstand . . .

I'm happy to have a new classic to feed my mind and imagination. A famous classic I had never heard of before. "The Betrothed" by Alessandro Manzoni. It is about life in Italy in the seventeenth-century. Apparently it is the one of the greatest European historical novels. So glad to have discovered it.

Learning, learning all the time . . .

Math has been a challenge for the boys as of late. The difficulty level is heating up for sure. So I've been making it the main priority every day. Math is always the first subject every day after breakfast. Slow and steady wins the race.

This baby growing business . . .

Going on 29 weeks. Time is clicking by at a decent pace. We still have so much to do to get ready for baby and wintertime but I'm doing my best not to get stressed. If it doesn't happen, it doesn't happen. As long as baby is safe and healthy, all is well. So when it comes down to either taking care of my body or getting things done to get ready for baby's arrival, I'll take safe and healthy every time. That being said, not much on the "to do" list is getting done. All is well though. One little thing at a time. We did find and buy a crib! Yeah!

Plans for the rest of the week . . .

Church tonight. The usual farmer's market and groceries on Saturday. Doug's goal is to work on the garage this weekend. It still needs to be cleared out! This "moving in" process is taking us forever. And I think we will make a family outing to the swimming pool (indoor!!) this weekend. The kiddos love it and hopefully Doug and I can take turns exercising a little bit.

Sage's recent obsession: caring for his "raccoon"

Nature walk today.