Feeling crummy today as I've been hit with a cold. Ugh. Just stuffy and cruddy-feeling. Hoping to feel better soon.

Brad plays his last softball tournament of the year today, and as of now, his team is doing terrific! I haven't talked to him in a few hours, but since he's not home yet - that means they are doing well and still advancing. He also started fall ball this past week and will play until at least the end of September.

Riley's birthday party was a lot of fun this week - we took 6 girls to the pool for the afternoon and finished back at our house with a pinata and cake/ice cream. Her friends are so sweet and they all play so well together!

I've been getting everything ready to start school and I think we are all set. Each of the kids have their own basket for school, and  each week, I fill it with the books they will need for that week. Riley's is VERY full - Quinn's basket has things more like dot-to-dot books, dry erase lettering books, etc. 

Then we also have two different art buckets. One has general art supplies in it that they can get out at any time (paper, crayons, markers, stickers, stamps, punches, etc.) and the other contains art supplies we use for more "project" work, like pipe cleaners, clothes pins, finger paint, etc. It helps keep us organized!

Off to feel better...

Yippee!! It's done and looks mostly like the picture - woo-hoo!! And the best part is that Riley loves it!  My mom came over tonight to help me decorate it (thanks!) and it took about 2 1/2 hours. But it looks adorable and we're hoping that tomorrow, seven little girls will love it as well!

The finished product!

Proud 6-yr-old

The decorations in progress...

...in the kitchen this afternoon! We are holding Riley's birthday party tomorrow afternoon so she can celebrate with her friends. It's a "water" themed party, so hence - a water park cake! Too cute! This is what it looks like in progress right now (hey - give me some time!):

And what is should look like later this evening:

Wish us luck! (I'm thinking dinner tonight will have to be frozen pizza or leftovers since we'll be otherwise occupied!)

Wonder what we've been up to today? Take a look!

Yep - that's fingerpaint and my kiddos are good & messy! We tend to work on art projects right after lunch most days. It's a great transition from the busyness of the morning/day into naps and quiet time (Riley still has to have quiet time for at least an hour each day...to read, sleep, etc.). Today we got out the fingerpaints and made a mess! Too much fun! I could tell you about the rest of the day - my OB dr. appointment, running errands, the kids filling a pinata with five pounds of candy, doing chores, laundry...but the fingerpaint was SO much more fun!

Sorry I've been MIA lately! We were on vacation for awhile, and then the kids were in PA for awhile, but things are finally getting back to normal around here! It's amazing how much you can look forward to going on vacation, and then how much you can look forward to getting back into your normal routine. And why is it that kids thrive on routines and schedules so much?

We vacationed with my parents, brother, sister-in-law and their kids at the Kalahari Resort in Sandusky, Ohio. We would highly recommend it! It has a fabulous indoor waterpark, outdoor waterpark, miniature golf, a spa (thanks for the massage, mom!!), arcade, restaurants, extra activities for the kids and lots, lots more! If you decide to book a room, look at their online rates/specials first as you can get great rates that way. We had tons of fun and there is something there for the whole family! We enjoyed shuffleboard, drinks by the pool, the lazy river, and my personal favorite - playing cards/games late at night with some of my very favorite people!

Here's a shot of part of the kids' waterpark outdoors.

Time spent with family is always fun!

School starts next Monday, and I still have some prep work to do to get ready. We are using Winter Promise this year and really looking forward to it. We have lots of other things on our schedule as well, like Awana, homeschool co-op, soccer, ballet/tap, gym class, and oh yeah...a baby coming soon! I'm feeling well and hanging in there so far!

Good afternoon! Sorry I'm late in getting my pics posted - told ya I wasn't a morning person! (But really - we've already been to the zoo today, had lunch, been to the library, etc.!) Make yourself comfortable, come right in, and take a look at our home - our little corner of the world!

This is our front porch/door. We enjoy sitting out here in our lawn chairs (wish we had those gorgeous, white wooden rockers, though!) watching the kids play and reading the paper. And with wireless, we occasionally take the laptop out as well! Living in a well-wooded area, we often find lots of bugs, squirrels, chipmunks, etc. on our front porch and in our yard. The kids LOVE the bugs and animals and love to hunt for bugs with their magnifying glass.

On to our front room - the living room. This is where we do most of our 'living!' From tickling and playing on the floor, to hosting Superbowl parties, birthday parties, homeschool get-togethers, opening Christmas presents, watching movies, playing with toys, reading, schooling and more - this is where you will find all of us most of the time! We love the Americana decor and the openness of the room.

We're supposed to post a picture of our kitchen, but this is the only part I want to show right now! I've got stacks of papers to clean up right now on the other kitchen counter! Sorry! We loved the gorgeous kitchen cupboards as soon we walked into this house! The kitchen also opens up to our eating area and toy room, so that is especially nice. What you'll always find stocked in our kitchen: cinnamon bread for toast, yogurt, string cheese, milk and soda! What you'll never find in our kitchen: mushrooms! Yuck!!

This is where I usually blog from. Love the freedom of wireless! Not a thrilling work area, but much, much cleaner than my old computer desk! 

We recently re-did our master bedroom and love how it turned out. The colors are rich and comfy. You can't see it, but there is another sconce on the wall to the left of the bed, to match the one you see on the right. I think we have about 5-6 candles in the room...very pretty when all lit. It's still not fully complete, but it's getting there!

And last but not least, my scrapbooking room. My sweet husband put it together for me about three years ago with a friend of ours, and I just love my space! I've repainted it now twice, but think I'm happy with this color for now! The counter stretches out about five more feet to the right as well. Riley loves to spend time scrapbooking with me, and Quinn is just starting to want to play with stickers and markers, as well!

That's it for the tour! Thanks for stopping by. I'm off to explore others' homes now, as well! Have a great weekend!

(To see more homes on the tour, click here.)

Not feeling so well today - not sure if it was something I ate today or what. It doesn't feel like morning sickness or anything like that - besides, I'm well past that (I hope!).  My sweet husband is making dinner for the himself and the kids tonight...waffles. Yum! My kids are thrilled as breakfast for dinner is a special treat!

Now that we know we are having a boy(!), we've been more seriously kicking around some names. Here are the thoughts so far - Jack(son), Cole, Cooper, Will. Feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments if ya want to! I made this silly agreement with Brad back in February (while we were still on a high from the Steelers winning the Superbowl) that if it was a boy, he could give it a Steelers middle name. Five months later, we're stuck with the middle name "Rooney," as it's what Brad chose and the Rooneys are the family that owns the Steelers. What was I thinking?!?   

We had a horrible thunderstorm last night - crazy lightning! It lit up our entire bedroom. We, of course, had an extra kid in with us due to the thunder (does this happen to most kids??), and when I went to check on Quinn...he was too cute! He was snuggled in his bed under all of his covers. I pulled them back (you know, so he could BREATHE!) and he said, ever-so-quietly, "I don't want there to be fireworks." Poor kid. He heard all the thunder and thought it was fireworks again!

Special BIG THANKS! to my mom for a great lunch yesterday (yum!), to my mother-in-law for helping provide for a new baby carseat and bouncy seat, and to my dad for taking me shopping for school supplies for the kids! Love you!!

I've decided to participate in another blogger's Tour of Homes tomorrow...look back for pictures then! Just click on the logo below for more info or to see the pics tomorrow.

Off to hopefully feel better!

Can I just say that one of my favorite things of being a stay-at-home-mom is being able to sleep in??  I'm not an early-morning person - never have been, never will be. I don't function well at that time! Fortunately, my kids are also late sleepers so our mornings don't start until 8:30 or so! Bless Brad, who gets up everyday at 4:15 to get to work. Ugh! He works hard to provide for our family, and we are so thankful.

We had planned to head to the park today with members of our HEART group (other homeschoolers in the area), but it looks like it's about to storm something awful here, so we are staying in today. Think the kids will get to paint for awhile and I will get some chores done!

Meeting a friend tonight to get together and chat - looking forward to that as I haven't seen her in about a month! I also need to finish my school supply shopping list today - before I head out next week to stock up.

If you're a stay-at-home-mom, what's one of your favorite guilty pleasures of being at home? (You know, besides the obvious "I get to spend time with my kids, etc.!)

I'm trying to get back into the swing of this, really, I am! I was enjoying blogging last year but for whatever reason, I ended up quitting for awhile. So I'm back - with a whole new look and ready to start blogging more!

We've had a great summer so far and there is still so much more to come! We also have a new baby on the way in less than 12 weeks! That will certainly bring lots of change around here, especially since we got rid of everything 'baby' last year!

We start school on August 21st and Riley is really excited to start this year. We are using Winter Promise curriculum and it looks perfect for what we were looking for! Can't wait to start! I've got everything sorted and organized, and my kind dad is taking me shopping next week to round out our school supplies for the year!

I've been keeping up on my scrapbooking and enjoying it. Made lots of small, themed albums this year - which I'd highly recommend! A great way to scrap a lot of photos in a shorter amount of time - plus, they're just fun to do! Now, if I'd just get busy and start submitting more of my pages for publication!

Pretty cool...I was chosen to review The Old Schoolhouse magazine for the next year and then blog about it!!  I'm looking forward to it.  In exchange, I will receive the magazine free for the next year - and only 10 of us were selected!

I have always enjoyed this magazine at the library, but it will be nice to now own my own copy so I can use it for reference whenver I want.  It's great homeschooling reference and a great magazine.  If you haven't looked at it before, take a look!