Random

The girls and I have been bonding over YouTube videos.  Specifically, videos by black women about taking care of and styling kinky curly "natural" hair.  We have been having so much fun snuggling up and watching a video (or four) most nights, when we should be climbing into bed.

One of the videos we watched recently (How to Cheat a Flexirod Set by Naptural85) got us thinking:  We could totally do this with Elisabeth's hair also!

So we did!

She loved it!  We've done this three times now...and I'm getting better.  I roll her hair into the rods at night and she sleeps on them.  (She doesn't love sleeping on them, but it must not bother her too much, since she keeps asking to do them again.)

And yes, we whipped up a batch of her homemade Flax Seed Gel that she mentions in the video.  It was very easy to make and works great...once you get over the fact that it totally looks and feels like snot!

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We bought some beets at our co-op pickup last week, and over the weekend we tried a new recipe that I recently pinned....Crispy Rosemary and Garlic Beet Chips: 

Verdict from The Peanut Gallery:  They LOVED these!  Yummy!  A definite hit!

Verdict from The Mom:  Yummy!  Loved them!  BUT...I will likely not ever make these again.  Too time intensive to make a batch big enough for all of us.  (I doubled the recipe and they were still all gone within 2 or 3 hours.)  But for a family that is not comprised of a bunch of pig-hoggers...these would be a great idea!

(WARNING:  Beets do.....ahem.... strange things to your inner workings.  When you use the restroom you will think you are dying of some dread disease!  And then (phew)...your wise-beyond-his-10-years son will come to you and comment that he'd had the same issue...but thankfully he will already have realized what the cause was!  Or maybe this just happens at our house...)

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We recently had a family over to eat supper with us.  This family is new to our area and we met them at church.  

And this family has 7 bio kids...and they homeschool.  We had a GREAT time together...and all the children (on both sides) have been asking daily when we will be able to get together again. 

When a family-of-8 hosts a family-of-9....it is definitely time to bring out the big guns pot!

photo credit:  Elisabeth!

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We are so excited about a new craft and decor store that opened in the town next to us!  This is a store that I had easy access to in Colorado Springs, and totally took for granted.  I have bemoaned the fact that I took it for granted for almost 13 years now.  But now...we have our own...woohoo!

We have been watching the progress for months and waiting not-so-patiently for the store to open.  It finally opened last week...but we waited until Saturday, so that some could stay home with daddy (who was only too happy to babysit rather than be subjected to peruse this store).  

We waited until mid-afternoon rest-time and then Elisabeth, Noah, LK and Abigail (I was just trying to be nice to Jas) headed out.  Daniel opted to stay home and play Legos, and ummm...G was not invited.

We walked around the store for almost 2.5 hours.  It was heaven!

The one and only thing I purchased was a yard of beautiful and fun fabric.  I have a big project in the works...involving this bookshelf that we received as a hand-me-down from my cousin:

We've had the shelf for about 6 or 7 years now and it has been used in the school room, and most recently in our master bedroom.  But it is about to be repurposed and revitalized.  (Maybe I'll be done and can show "after" pictures in another year or so...)

As we walked around the store (for hours) I wore A in the ergo, and she slept for more than half of that time.  We kept getting comments from everyone who passed by.  "She is slap. out!"...one of the employees commented.  And he was right. Sister didn't find the store near as interesting as the rest of us did.  

I spied this sign in the store and literally laughed out loud!  I had to take a picture and send it to Jas:  

They made this sign for me!  I try hard to hold it together...but more often than not, my crazy definitely starts showing (just ask my kiddos!).