Tag: Daily Life

A cozy saturday at home

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I have been in my pajamas ALL DAY and it has been glorious! My energy is zapped from the busy week we had and the squirrel in my basement, so I desperately needed this day of cozy rest.

I went to bed a little early last night. That felt GOOD! I was surprisingly able to sleep 9½ hours straight through with NO alarms.

I woke up at 7:19 a.m. and decided to start my day—SLOW. I put the kettle on and then filled the bird feeders with the new seed mix I made for the birds (bluebird nuggets, peanuts, mealworms, and wild bird seed mix).

My bird feeders are gourmet! Lol 😆🐦

I was happy to discover I have two new visitors to my feeders—Red-breasted Nuthatch birds. These adorable blue and reddish birds are slightly smaller than a junco (about 4ish inches in length) and zip so fast in and out to the feeders that it’s hard to get a good photo of them.

Maybe next time.

Here’s what a Red-breasted Nuthatch bird looks like (thanks to this photographer’s great capture)!

Other cozy Saturday activities for today:

  • breakfast and tea while reading a chapter of Little Women 📖
  • watered my thirsty houseplants 🪴
  • caught up on washing laundry (but I’m leaving the dry clothes in baskets to take care of on Monday!) 🧺
  • watched two episodes of Grantchester

Dinner tonight will be simple—garlic chicken drumsticks and a chef salad.

Hope you are enjoying a cozy weekend, too!

Here are a few moments from today’s cozy Saturday.

💜 XO

Saturday’s cozy breakfast with tea and a good read.
Dried Lavender & Oak is my favorite Yankee candle. 😌 It has a soft lavender scent with a hint of warm wood.
One of my snake plants. I love snake plants because they’re so easy to care for.
We have five pothos plants in our home, and they have grown so long! I love wrapping the vines around bookshelves, similar to this one pictured on our kitchen pantry shelf. 🪴

“There is nothing like staying at home for real comfort.”— Jane Austen

Happy Friday

Three things to reflect on in honor of September 11th.

Jenn's avatar by Jenn

Feature image credit: Elise Kennemer.

When life gets squirrely

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Good news—the squirrel is now out of our basement. We are so relieved! My anxiety has been triggered these past four days all because of this furry, little creature. 😏

How can something so small—that’s also very frightened of humans—cause so much anxiety and stress? Lol 🐿😅

Our uninvited guest came in through the chimney clean-out door. Apparently, it was already open, but we just didn’t know it. (This also explains how a House Sparrow got in our basement last summer. 🐦🤔)

🐿 This furry, little guy (or gal?) caused quite the fuss this week! Thankfully, he was humanely trapped and released back into the wild.

On a first attempt of safely trapping Mr. Squirrel, he managed to quickly get into the cage and eat the bait (peanut butter and peanuts), and then walk right out of the cage without tripping the trap door. 🤦🏽‍♀️🐿

So, Travis made sure to place the food-bait behind the trigger plate, and thankfully, that did the trick.

The wildlife trapper arrived within the hour of my calling to report the squirrel had been safely secured. The trapper then humanely removed the squirrel from our basement and released it back into “the wild” (about 20 miles from our home per standard wildlife trap and release procedures).

So, no squirrels were harmed in this squirrely fiasco, and my nerves have returned to normal!

What a week it’s been! 😄

💜 XO

“Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”— 2 Corinthians 3:17

Happy Friday!

Four fun things for Friday, including a new art exhibit I’m excited to see.

Jenn's avatar by Jenn

Feature image credit Paolo Nicolello.

A little reset

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This week, I’ve been focusing on refreshing the rooms and spaces in the downstairs part of our house. I told Travis I realized I do this about every three months.

I always feel happy and refreshed after I rearrange the furniture and organize any clutter that has accumulated over the months. With a big family like ours (8 people!), it’s hard to avoid any clutter. 😆

Reorganizing our home and rearranging furniture in the rooms helps reduce my anxiety. It also helps me focus and have mental clarity.

ChatGPT says, “people who do this usually process emotions through environment, need visual freshness to feel energized, think spatially, and are creative + intuitive.”

YES! 1,000% this is me!

💜 XO

“Return, my soul, to your rest; the LORD has been very good to you.” Psalm 116:7

Valentine’s Day Decorations

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Today, we went to Hobby Lobby to get a few Valentine’s Day decorations. ❤️

Hobby Lobby is just like Target for me—it’s my one weakness. I think it’s the sales that get me. Lol

You go in the store planning to stick to your short list, and next thing you know, you walk out of the store with more items than you had planned! 😆

Zaya (5) really loved this pink, sequin Valentine heart. 💗

The kids were excited to decorate for Valentine’s Day and make a few crafts. They LOVE decorating for holidays and making crafts!

As soon as we got home from the store, they started digging through the shopping bags and pulled out the decor and the Valentine’s craft kits they picked out.

I also bought some more construction paper and Valentine’s color-themed pipe cleaners (Chenille stems) so we can make some homemade crafts, too. 😊

Here are a few moments from today. 💗

💜 XO

“And over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection.” — Colossians 3:14

One more thing…

Tattoo collector

American traditional tattoos—I love the classic, vintage imagery and bold colors and lines.

Jenn's avatar by Jenn

I just need twenty minutes

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On the way to the grocery store, Zaya (5) was watching Bluey (season three, episode eleven) on our minivan DVD player. The episode was about Bluey’s mom Chilli needing a twenty-minute break.

Chilli says to her husband Bandit she needs “20 minutes when no one comes near me.”

I chuckled when I heard this line because, as a mom of six kids, it is very relatable. Bluey always has the best teachable moments for parents kids don’t you think? 😉

And as it turns out—today has been one of those crazy, busy days for us (Tuesdays usually are).

But the craziest part of our day? First thing in the morning, I found a squirrel in my basement! 😱🐿

It was just chilling in our basement looking at me while sitting on one of our storage shelves. We think the squirrel came in through the dryer vent.

So, yeah—I just need twenty minutes! 😫😂

Here are a few moments from today.

💜 XO

Zaya drawing a picture inspired by a storybook ablut polar bears and penguins that I read to her.
Math lesson time! 😊
I bought myself a bag of Dove’s chocolate for when I just need 20 minutes. 🍫
Zephaniah (8) organized his dinosaur cards by height—from tallest dinosaur to the shortest dinosaur.
Leftover honey jars make great candy jars.

“A quiet cup of tea can fix more than a to-do list ever could.”

I’ll Put the Kettle On

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I can now say, “I’ll put the kettle on.” 😌🫖☕️ Honestly, I’ve always wanted to say that, as I’m obsessed with British TV series, especially Masterpiece on PBS.

Last night, Travis bought me a whistling tea kettle. I was pretty geeked about it because I’ve never had a tea kettle that whistles when the water is ready. 😆

I used to have a Breville Tea Maker that my sister gave me about 10 or 11 years ago, but it stopped working a few months ago.

But a whistling tea kettle is just so much more fun!

The new tea kettle Travis bought for me. 🫖

Since my Breville broke down, I had just been boiling water for my tea in a small pot. 😂 I needed something a little more efficient now that the kids want tea in the mornings (following in Mom’s footsteps 🥹🥰).

This morning, when I heard the tea kettle make the whistling sound, I excitedly called the kids to the kitchen to check it out. Lol 😄 They thought it was pretty cool, too!

“Fancy a cuppa?” ☕️

Here are a few moments from today.

💜 XO

Zaya (5) helping me clean the tea kettle. She was just as excited as I was about the new kettle.
A House Sparrow and a Junco sitting beside each other on my patio fence. You can also see another Junco in the hanging pot feeder.
Zephaniah (8) watching the birds through the window at the bird feeders.
This afternoon, I stopped by the pet store to get some more bird food. 😄
Cute little guy—a Bearded Dragon I saw at the pet store.
Today’s Lunch: leftover stir fry chicken. 😋
Travis and Zephaniah putting together the new kitchen table we thrifted.

“Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the world earth revolves.” — Thich Nhat Hanh

The Mitten State

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Daily writing prompt
Name an attraction or town close to home that you still haven’t got around to visiting.
View all responses

We’ve been living in Michigan for ten years now, and we’ve never traveled more than two hours outside of our local area. I know that’s pretty wild, huh? 😆

The first five years we were living here, the thought never crossed my mind to explore more of the state. I honestly wasn’t expecting us to live in Michigan for over five years.

We also fell in love with exploring more of Detroit and the metro area, so the past ten years, our leisure time has been spent close to home.

The Detroit Institute of Arts is one of our favorite places to visit in Detroit.

But right around the seven-year mark, I started to realize we needed to actually start exploring our other cities and towns in our new home state! 😄

Here are a few cities/towns I want to visit in Michigan.

  • Mackinac Island (M has been to Mackinac Island, and she really enjoyed it.)
  • Grand Rapids
  • Traverse City
  • Lansing
  • Port Huron
  • St. Joseph
  • Frankenmuth (We visited Frankenmuth once in 2017, I think. We attended a hot air balloon festival, but we didn’t actually explore the town, so I’d like to go back again.)
  • And I’d really love to go camping in the UP!
Milliken State Park and Harbor in Detroit. I love going on bike rides here!

I know Michigan has many amazing cities and towns, especially in the UP. A lot of people I know who live here, like to travel to the UP for vacationing and just to get away for a weekend.

I hope one day our family will be able to start going on road trips to visit more of the Mitten State!

💜 XO

“To move, to breathe, to fly, to float… to travel is to live.” — Hans Christian Andersen

Photo credit info here.

Five fun things

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List five things you do for fun.

At my age of 45, I tend to gravitate towards the “grandma activities.” 😂👵🏽

My days are always so busy with homemaking, homeschooling, and just being a wife and mom to our six kids, so I like to keep it simple and focus on more quiet activities.

Here are a few things I do for fun throughout the seasons.

Winter Season

  • Visit the public library and checkout books.
  • Read the library books I checked out. 📚
  • Go to art galleries to view artwork, read in the cafés, or meetup with a friend.
  • Put together puzzles.
  • Crafting. Right now, I’ve been creating my own jewelry. I’ve also been learning how to do nature journal sketching and watercolor painting.
The DIA is one of my favorite art museums to visit throughout the year!

Spring, Summer, and Fall Seasons

Once the weather warms up again, I usually spend more time outside of the house. These are fun things I like to do in the spring, summer, and fall.

  • Gardening—I garden at my home and a community garden.
  • Attend local festivals.
  • Go to the lake with my family.
  • Nature walks on the trails. Last year, we discovered a microforest in our local area. The kids and I love going on nature walks in the forest!
  • Antiquing, thrifting, and vinyl shopping (I love collecting classic jazz records!)
  • Bonus: this daily blog and street photography. I also continue my nature journal sketching and watercolor painting in these seasons, too.
I love gardening! I’ve been learning how to grow my own food. Every garden season, I learn so many new gardening techniques and information about growing food.

And with that, here are a few moments from today!

💜 XO

“Stay where you are at.” Spotted this sticker on a light post at the hardware store.
Silly Sentences. Today, the kids played with DK Silly Sentences. It’s a fun way for children to learn how to create sentences.
Blue jay stopping by the patio for peanuts. With the weather being so cold in the single digits, the birds have been hanging out more at my bird feeders. 🐦
I’ve been teaching the kids how to do laundry. With homeschooling, I like to include learning essential life skills as part of their education experience.
Today’s Prayer. As part of a Christmas present, M (23) gifted her younger siblings prayer cards. Zechariah (10) likes to read a new prayer card each day.
Zaya (5) putting on her Hello Kitty makeup.
Zaya’s makeup bag. 🥹😊 Big sister M gave Zaya a makeup bag she no longer needed. Zaya was really excited about it!

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.” John 14:27

Arctic blast is on the way!

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This arctic cold blast is on the way! The temps will drop late tonight to 16°F, and then by 8 a.m. tomorrow it will be ZERO DEGREES outside! 🥶

I’m proud of myself because I got all the grocery shopping done today so I don’t have to go out in the arctic weather this weekend (Oh, and I also made sure to get a full tank of gas!).

I usually do the weekly grocery shopping on Saturday mornings, so it feels great to not have to worry about it. 🙌🏾

Zaya (5) went with me to pick up the grocery order today, and she said she was proud of me for remembering to get chocolate pop tarts. 😂

Grocery shopping done before the arctic blast hits us tomorrow!

January — The Month to Go Slow and Rest

Next year, I am making sure I get all annual and biannual health/dental appointments completed BEFORE January. I’ve had to cancel a few appointments this month because of the weather.

A lot of activities and events also get canceled or postponed because it always snows in January and gets super cold.

Oh yeah—and then there’s the flu and other viral bugs. The kids and I were sick just two weeks ago.

I just need to make sure we focus on slowing down and resting in January.

Okay, maybe I should say I need to make sure I slow down and focus on rest since I’m the one who who struggles with it the most. 😏😆

Here are a few moments from today. 💜

Math lesson with Zephaniah (8).
Some of the kids’ bikes covered in snow. No worries—these bikes are older and we’ll probably get rid of them (donate or recycle) in the spring. Their newer bikes and scooters are stored in our basement.
Theo the squirrel eating a peanut on the patio. I named this squirrel Theo from Alvin and the Chipmunks because I originally thought she was a boy. 🐿😂 But I later found out Theo is a girl. We decided to just keep calling her Theo. Haha! 😆🤣
Bathroom art from the local market. I was looking at this wall art, and I thought to myself, “Does this art piece make me want to buy vegetables?” 🤔🥦🥕
Valentine’s Day treats at the market bakery. ❤️🧁
I ended up treating myself to a chocolate lava cake slice. 😍😋

“Plans fail when there is no counsel, but they succeed when advisers are many.” Proverbs 15:22

Planner struggles

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All the homeschool YouTube moms were talking about this one really cool homeschool planner that “you HAVE to get!” because they said it was the best planner EVER.

So naturally, after watching a bunch of videos about it, I felt like I had to have it.

It’s called the “Homeschool Lesson Planning Minimalist Notebook” made by Schoolnest.

But it’s SO pretty, and I love the feel of the pages and the layout style! 🥹

I added the homeschool planner to my Amazon wishlist and decided to wait a few months to think about if I really needed this planner.

After a few months, I decided I wanted to give the planner a try, and so last fall, I took the plunge and bought it.

I was so excited when it arrived at my house, and I couldn’t wait to start using it. I faithfully used the homeschool minimalist planner for about two months.

But now? Dude, I have the hardest time staying consistent with it. 🤷🏽‍♀️

It doesn’t mean we’re not doing any lessons. It just means I find it a pain to always remember to write in it! Lol 😆 Which is wild to me because I’m a planner—I thrive on organization!

So now, I’m trying to figure out how to best use this planner because I really do love it, and I don’t want it to be a waste of money.

I’m going to update my homeschool lesson planning minimalist notebook tonight. Here’s hoping I can stay consistent with it, though! 😂

Here are a few moments from today.

Here we go again! We had another little snowstorm this morning, and guess who got caught in it whilst driving? Me! 😭❄️
Around 8 a.m. during the snowstorm after dropping E, my oldest, off at work.
A crow perched at the top of a tree in the shopping center parking lot.
Little Junco eating bird seeds at patio bird feeder. This little guy shows up everyday with about five other Juncos.
Blue jay hopping on my patio to get a peanut.
Zechariah (10) reading his library book.
Zhen (13) worked on her art activity while listening to music with her Care Bears headphones.

“A voice behind you will say, ‘This is the way; walk in it,’ when you would turn to the right or to the left.” Isaiah 30:21