The circus was here!

The circus came to Lufkin!

I had a playgroup at my house and one of the ladies said she was going to the circus that night.  I text Derek to see if he wanted to go because it was a Tuesday evening.  Well I was too late to get tickets online so we just showed up hoping we would get in.  Well I forget we are in a small town because we showed up a little late (from dropping off Des at a friend's house) and we got right in.

The kids had a great time!  Their favorite parts were...

Ashlyn: The 10 Jasmines doing tricks on the rope

Brinley: The clown scene (in her words "When the clown tooted from his pants")

The clowns were getting married and did silly tricks.

Claire: Seeing the tigers.

Mommy School

These cuties are working on building their name.

 

We learned about Ants this week.  We made a poster that describes an ant.  

Ants are so strong... we pretended we were ants by carrying pillows across the room.  

We watched The Ants are Marching on YouTube.

I loved watching them march along.

Putting marshmallows on the A

We learned parts of an apple and then we had to test it out. Claire loved the seeds and even ate most of the core.

We painted an apple tree and then put apple stickers on the tree.  These girls spent about 30 minutes painting their pictures.  I have been so impressed with Brinley.  She is such a great little student.  I thought she would have a difficult time because she is a lot more physical and active, but she does great!  

Des is just adorable!  I can't believe she is 7 months now!  My baby is getting so big!

A drawer that our garbage and recycling go in is very stinky.  I have cleaned the drawer with soap and water, then put vinegar overnight, put airfreshners in drawer, and now I am cleaning out the cans.... but it still smells awful.  If you have suggestions, I would love to hear. 

I had helpers!  They had a lot of fun with bubbles and water!

Last week I came home from the store and found out that at the check out line Brinley put this Rapunzel on the belt.  We had a big discussion about earning money and paying for things with her own money.  WOW she was motivated to get that Rapunzel.  She worked hard for a week to earn it!  I was so proud of her!

Some of the projects that I have been up to..

Babysitting Binder.

Derek and I hired a babysitter from our ward to come babysit every Friday.  It is wonderful!  I look forward to our date nights each week!  It is so awesome living in a small town because it literally takes 5 minutes to drive to a restaurant and because we go on Friday nights, which is the night the high school football games play, we get right in.  After we eat it has only been about 45 minutes or 1 hour and so we have to get creative with what we do here because there isn't much.  ha ha. 

You may laugh about Friday night football but FOOTBALL is BIG in TEXAS!  They have season tickets for the high school team...ha ha.  In October Ashlyn will be singing at halftime with her kindergarten class and we are ONLY allowed 2 tickets ONLY for halftime.  It is hilarious to me! 

Back to the binder, I am so glad I made this... It has emergency contact, our address, information about each child, ideas of activities to do with the kids, routines, schedules, and information about how to use the EpiPen!  It was a great reminder to me to how and when to use it!  I hope it never happens.

I also organized the pantry.

My little helper

I flipped the camera to do a selfie of us while I was making dinner, but she wouldn't smile.  I made all sorts of faces and then I got a half smile at the end.  

We have been going to Ashlyn's school once a week to eat lunch with her.  It is so fun for everyone!  It is fun for me to get to know her friends and be familiar with people at the school. This week Ashlyn said that she misses eating Mac and Cheese... by golly I made it and brought cucumbers and grapes too.  

The tiger is at the main entrance of the school.  The girls LOVE IT!  We have to pet, hug, and kiss it!  I am sure this tiger gets a lot of love.

It is fun to see Ashlyn's work in the hallway.

 I feel so blessed!  Life is so wonderful and I feel like things are falling into place.  I really enjoy this stage having Ashlyn in school and enjoying the other 3 at home.  Having Ashlyn at school is the perfect place where she needs to be.  She is learning and really enjoys school.  It has given me an opportunity to focus my attention on the other three and see Brinley really step up to take on the role of older sister.  Brinley and Claire laugh and giggle so much, they are little buds.  Brinley helps Claire and is so sweet to her and Des.  Brinley is learning to be my little helper.  

I was in a slump a couple of weeks ago and then I was talking to Nicholette on the phone.  She shared with me about a book called The Morning Miracle.  I haven't read it, but I watch 1 1/2 hour clip on YouTube about him sharing his life story and described what the morning miracle was... it has been a huge game changer for me!  If you haven't seen it, I would recommend it!  He gives some steps to do in the morning, which I have altered to what works for me, but to sum it up...

-Get up an hour or so before everyone else in your household... for me 5:30

It is amazing the difference it makes to get up on my own, then by my little peeps.  I am a much happier camper:)

- Read something uplifting and inspiring.  

For me this is my scripture study.  I have felt revelation come to me in the wee hour of the mornings when there is silence (rare occurrence at our house)and scriptures in front of me.  Scriptures are an amazing key to receiving revelation.

-Visualize your day

For me I just go through my schedule and to-do list for the day

- Say your mantra

To be honet i haven't done this yet... I feel silly talking to myself, but as I have gone throughout the couple of weeks I bet it would be benefitical. I will have to try it out.

-Exercise

After 20-30 minutes of study I meet a lady from my ward at the church (which we live next to) and we run around the neighborhood at 6-6:30.  She is my pace and it makes the time go by so fast because we are chatting the whole time.  The days we don't run, I do something online called dailyburn.  It has all sorts of programs and all different levels.  I enjoy the cardio and strength training ones.

After all of this I am ready to conquer the day!