Jake Had A Busy Week Last Week...

 He had to cuddle Sadie in bed...

That can be time consuming....

 He had co-op on Monday, school and taking care of me on Tuesday.  Wednesday was Food For Thought, the once a month homeschool class at the library,  and the topic was "Sweet Science"(yes I took him while being sick...I toted tissues and warned the other mom's stay keep there distance).  He also made me lunch that day to make me feel better.  That night he had YM's at church.  Thursday more school of course (he did it every day but I guess I don't have to say that...) and then the homeschooling skate that afternoon (I was feeling some what human by then).  Friday was school, and then shop class and working on a merit badge with Papa Harmon.

They were working on building a fire.

And all that is left on the lamp is to sand it and then bring it home and paint it!  It is pretty cool and Jake will hate this picture....hehehe.

After shop class we headed to Target to get a few new t-shirts for him.  None of his shirts from last summer seem long enough.  I guess that is because he has grown several inches.  He is now (and has been for a few weeks) officially taller than me.  I am 5' 6 3/4" tall.  He is over 5'7".  He calls me short stack now.

Then we headed to one of his friends (Wilson) house for his b-day party.  We dropped him off at 4 and picked him up at 11.  It was a sleepover but we don't do sleepovers...boys get dumber the more sugar they ingest and the more tired they get...and the more of them there are!  Not to say they are dumb but you know what I mean.  Jumping off the roof seems more doable at 2 am.  I wish I had taken pictures of the boys.  There were six of them, all boys that we met at Classical Conversations co-op when we moved here 3 years ago.  They are all 13 or turning 13 (well one is a little brother and is 11) in the next couple of months.  Three of them have hit puberty and are tall with deeper voices and the other three are short with high voices.  It is crazy to see the change in them.  And Jake is of course is one or the tall guys....by a lot!  Time flies!!!!

 On Saturday we did some serious grocery shopping-Jake stayed home while we went to Walmart (Aaron came with me-Jake said it was a date for us) and then came when we went to Sam's Club.  He couldn't pass up the pizza or checking out all the cool stuff with Aaron.  They like to check out all the huge TV's and books and movie's and...and...and...You get it.

And by the way...Dreams do come true!  I am cutting back but I was excited to see that Sam's Club finally had diet Dr. Pepper.  It is my one vice....

 I was in the house putting away all our food and stuff and I opened the windows to let the Spring (I know I don't have to capitalize Spring...or any of the seasons but I like to and it is my blog so I do) breeze in.  I caught a picture of Aaron cutting the grass while Jake scooped the poop and then burned what is just about the last of the leaves.

I have my spring-y-est table cloth one. 

I forgot I took this picture!

 After that we played Settlers of Catan which I won fair and square this time. We had movie night on Saturday since Jake was not home on Friday and watched Mocking Jay Part 1...and I cried of course.  Any time the theme is revolution for freedoms sake I blubber...It was a good week for a good kiddo and his biggest fan...


And last week is a wrap...and we are on to a new one!

Last Week...

  There has to be pictures of food!  We love Mexican food and I love chopping, so naturally that leads to pico de Gallo.  I love it.  Aaron loves it.  Jake...nope.

And it is soooo pretty.  Even in a slightly out of focus picture.

Aaron warms up the corn and flour tortillas on the griddle and we eat as the get warm.

We are kind of loving the island in the kitchen.  We just pulled right up to it, ate, and talked.  I will have to remember to take pictures of the whole kitchen now with the island in it.  It really is the perfect size.

I read the only well known book by Jane Austen that I hadn't read yet.  Lady Susan.  It is really barely a book at something like 45 pages...but Austen doesn't need very many pages to paint the picture and make you love (or hate!...Lady Susan is NOT a Lady!) her characters.  I really enjoyed it!  And it is always fun to read books that you can judge by their cover-which is obviously lovely!

 These are the books that Jake has read so far in 2015.  All 2,359 pages worth (and that was last week...he has finished another 700+ page book since then)!  Aunt Gloria he LOVED the Michael Vey books!  He read each one in a couple of days and would have read them quicker if I would have let him!  Eldest was a reread (one of his all time favorite books), and Five Kingdoms is another book he got for Christmas (and is the 2nd in a series).  Walden (I didn't make him read Civil Disobedience-we will come back to that one...luckily it is short!) was officially a school book (but lets face it everything book he reads is school!) and not his favorite (I still need to finish it...).   He thinks Thoreau was crazy.  Hehehe...

Jake was sick all last week.  No fever, so we never did end up going to the doctor but he just couldn't shake it.  He pretty much spent Tuesday and Wednesday in bed (on Monday he stayed home while I went to co-op just to teach art class).  It was one of those colds were you feel horrible when you wake up because of the post nasal drip inflamed sore throat you wake up with and kind of coughing stuff up...Is this too gross?  Sorry.  He laid low and by mid afternoon swore he would be better the next day...It took several "next days" but he survived.

Sorry this is out of focus but I have to document our lives people!  Yoda and Throat Coat herbal tea helped a lot.

 I also remembered an old trick I used to do when I was making Jake quick but yummy breakfasts.  I would put maple syrup on this plate and pop it in the microwave to warm up while his Eggos were warming up in the toaster.

I am trying to steer clear but I broke down and had my favorite Land-O-Lakes French Vanilla hot chocolate last week.  It was c-c-c-cold last week.  Our coldest, by far, week this winter.  Some days we didn't see above freezing and on morning it was 8 degrees.  That is cold for South Carolina!

While I was dying my hair one day (my roots around my face are getting even more gray and I am not ready to look that old) I did a little art work on our chalk board in the kitchen.  It was cold people.  Seriously!

I also brought my antique store find ($25 I think it was) back into the living room.  I love it.

Sadie loves pillows.

I am thinking about getting this clock for the living room.  I have finally decided to do a little gallery wall above the desk in that empty space that has been bothering me for months now.  I am still thinking about it....

 I had been thinking about this bag for four months and when I went to Target last week this was the only one left.  So I finally made up my mind and bought it and I am so happy I did!  My go to bag was starting to rip so it was perfect timing.  I love the pockets on the inside.  Perfect for my phone and the fabric is so pretty!

It is such a happy bag!  It is perfectly neutral with just a pop of color in the straps, which by the way are the perfect length.

And the front pocket is perfect for keys, lip balm, tissues, and hand sanitizer....and anything else because it is a pretty big pocket!  I am loving it!

I mentioned Sadie likes pillows...she also likes the floor...which would pretty much be the opposite of pillows.

On Saturday Jake felt good enough to go the comic book store with Aaron and they came back with The Settlers Of Catan.  We played it.  We loved it.  We are ready to host as many Settler of Catan parties as can in order to play it again.

I like keeping my things organized when I play games.  One day that will carry over to my whole house....

I have my eye out for a new shower curtain too.  I am kind of liking this one from Target.  If we end up getting it I am going to paint the bathroom gray.  There is another one I really like that is large black and white strips.  If we get that one I will paint the bathroom the green color that is in this shower curtain (and also in the pillows in the living room...not that that matters but it kind of does).  Paint colors are easy for me to pick...Wall hangings and shower curtains take me a little more time to weigh my options....


Last week is in the books!  Now on to this snowy week....

A Week In Review: 1/19-1/23

*I will not be rereading this post.  Hopefully it will make some kind of sense....

*I forgot to mention last week that last week was Jake's first Shop Class with Papa Harmon.  Last week they talked about safety in the shop and while using the machines.  They are going to make a lamp...and I am hoping a couple of bookshelves. :)


*This Wednesday was "School For Thought" at the library.  Their once a month homeschool event.  Jake got to eat Ramen noodles while learning about the Japanese culture, how to speak and write a few phrases in Japanese-including his name and just plan having fun!

*It is official. Sadie knows when it is time to pick up Jake from church on Wednesday night and feels the need to tag along.  It is the little things that bring sheer joy to a dog.

 *I got a couple of wrong number texts last week and didn't let it bother me...

hehehe....

*My jam at the moment.  Aaron bought it for me because he loves me.

*On Thursday we went on a field trip to the Peace Center in Greenville and saw "To Kill A Mockingbird" and it was AMAZING!  We laughed.  I cried!  It was so well done.  And it is their "Pops for education" program so the tickets were only $9 each. 

We went with the Cluney's (they are searching Google in this picture to end a light hearted debate the boys were having about something super hero related.

Aunt Sheila, Nee, and Papa G all came too! 

After that we had lunch at Zaxby's.
 Jake looks so tall.  Ethan is about to turn 13 and hasn't hit that growth spurt yet.  He will though. His dad is 6'2" inches just like Aaron.  I wonder in six months which one of these guys will be taller...





*And this picture doesn't want me to type beside it so I will type above it.  Right after the play we headed back to Sparkle City and I dropped Jake off for shop class with Papa Harmon.  Luckily it didn't have to get cancelled because Papa was able to cover with a tarp and brace up a place in the rood where a tree limb had come through the roof the day before.  No equipment was hurt luckily.

 

*On Friday night we watched Transformers: Age of Extinction (Aaron's choice for movie night).  It was pretty good....but would have been better for me personally if it hadn't been 2 hours and 45 minute.  Take an hour off and it would have been better....for me.  They loved it.

*On Saturday morning I (along with my Primary presidency: Cindy Peterson 1st councilor, Lindsay Chapman-2nd councilor, Sue Graves-otherwise known as Nee/Mom-secretary, Rebecca Everett-chorister...I type all this to see if I remember all these people in 20 years...I hope I do!) was lucky enough to go to Primary Stake Training and it was great!  While I was gone Aaron and Jake went to the Waffle House and then the comic book store.  They are thrilled that there is a brand new Star Wars comic book and a Darth Vader one that is about to come out.  They are true geeks!

*On Saturday afternoon we headed to Sam's club and enjoyed some taste testing while getting some groceries.  If I ever had to be stranded somewhere for a few days (or weeks) I would pick Sam's Club.  They have everything you would need to survive.  I am of course assuming it would just be me and my family.  Adding all the other random shoppers and workers would take away from the the fun.  I am also assuming that the power would still work so the food would stay fresh, the TV's still worked and there was light to read by.

*Lot of other things happened I am sure but this seems like a pretty good list of what went down in the Harmon household last week.  Add in Aaron working in some very muddy weather, Jake and I still trying to finish Walden because it is boring us to tears (not really but kind of)...so much so that I read a few pages in Mr. Darcy's Diary (I said I wouldn't read any other book- besides the scriptures-until I was finished with Walden as motivation to just get it over with....) to keep myself from never reading again....I keep finding little gems in Walden, but the over all read it excruciating... More on that when I finally finish it.  

*Here is hoping that I will either forget about this week in review business or actually do it in a timely fashion!