Random Ryanne Rant.....

You know how people will say that kids are just as happy playing with the box the toy comes in? Well, I'm starting to wonder why we spent the money on a bed for Ryanne. I  mean for over a year she slept in a tent she put up in the middle of her room. No I'm serious a real tent, with a door and window and zipper closure. Then we bought her a loft bed and now she has made a pallet on the floor and sleeps "under" the bed. The best part about this picture is that when we put her to "bed" or I guess "floor" for the night her room is clean. I swear! We make them clean their rooms everyday and so the question you have to ask yourself as a parent is how when you you go to check on them on your way to bed did the room get like this? Like are the toys possessed? Did they see Toy Story and freeze up when they heard me coming? I mean look at it. You be the judge. And yet she sleeps. I seriously have enough material on Ryanne that I could have an entire other blog just dedicated to stories of my life with her. Sometimes they would be funny. Sometimes they would make you cringe. But mostly you would just shake your head and laugh.

Ryanne is in 4th grade this year. 4th grade! Ugh! Not sure how that happened but this is our season of life. A 4th grader and Jr. higher. Ryanne likes to make messes. She likes dirt and bugs and all things creepy crawly. She loves Science too! Maybe she can invent a way to keep her toys in their boxes after dark. Ha!

The beauty of homeschooling is getting to play in the kitchen in the middle of the day. Putting eggs in vinegar and waiting....watching...taking notes.......

The very best character trait in Ryanne (well she has many) but one I love so much is that she will never leave a friend behind. Even though she is the size of a 5 year old she will lift, pull and push you to the finish using any ounce of strength she has. She wants people to make it to the top. :) I don't think a random Ryanne rant would be complete without a funny Ryanne story.

Morgan: "Man mom, I wish I had brought a water with me. I am SO thirsty. I feel like I'm gonna die."
Ryanne: "Good, now you know how the Israelites felt!"

Don't worry Ryanne is used to the blank looks and stares. Ha!

Holding Onto Summer....

It was my darling oldest daughters turn to pick the dessert I would make last weekend and she picked apple pie. Really Morgan? Gluten free, dairy free, edible apple pie? Hmmmmmm....

So I cheated and tried out this new GF crust I found at Clarks. Freezer section incase your interested.

I made it up as I went and added some DF butter and brown sugar to the top before putting the second crust on top as per the directions....

I think it's safe to say it's the ugliest dessert I have ever made but oh it was Y-U-M-M-Y! As long as you ate it with your eyes closed that is. :)

Be still my heart...Morgan danced on Pointe last week for the first time....

It was soooooo fun! The girls looked amazing. Morgan was so excited to have dirty shoes and blisters the next day. ha! only in a dancers world I guess....

Last Friday was our last day of freedom before school started this week. We loaded the girls and three of their friends up in the car and headed to the lake.

These two have been friends so long...since they were 9 months old. I so should whip out the bathtub pictures.....

The lake has climbing things and a huge slide to play on so the kids had a blast....on a side note, God has been really stirring in my heart to stay on my toes and pray. Seems obvious I guess but it's more than that. Like a reminder to be so diligent and steadfast in my quiet time and prayer so I don't miss anything. Do I always succeed? No. Do I sometimes rush God? Yes. Do I miss his blessings? Absolutely. And to not let other believers rain on my parade. Does that make sense? Just because people are saved doesn't mean they wont do hurtful things or make your life ummm...hard. Were human. But I desire to set out with the daily purpose of wanting Gods best for others. My sin gets in the way.  My pride makes me disagreeable. Morgan and I were struggling with someone this past week and God really put it on my heart to rise above. I told Morgan,"Let's pray Gods best for them even if right in this moment our emotions don't follow our words." I think it's reasonable to say that as women our emotions get in the way and sometimes it takes God some time to get through to us the fact that yes if our actions are even in the smallest way resembling him our hearts will follow suit. Out of the shear desire to be obedient to our father. My quiet time this morning said,"We must set aside the self-centered attitude that leads to impatience and criticism of others.Jesus did not say the world would know him by our miracles but by the love Christians show one another." (John 13:35) -Experiencing God Day By Day-

Count Down To Chaos....

We are savoring the last few days of summer as we count down to chaos. School, dance etc. will soon be consuming our days and nights. Luckily we were able to sneak away and spend some time with the cousins in San Diego. It was my nephews 6th birthday. (Coincidentally I have zero pictures of the birthday boy??) Here is Ryanne and her cousin Jacqueline.  

Morgan and her cousin AJ......

Lucky for us it was a Mario Bros. party so there were mustaches for everyone.....

Or maybe NOT so lucky for us. Ha! Dan and his baby sister sporting the very ah-hem attractive facial hair....

In preparation for busy weeks ahead I really started praying about how I could simplify our days and nights so I would not be a grouch to my kids.....God really started to make my heart heavy for the fact that I need to prioritize and plan on the weekends better. So I made a commitment to sit every Saturday and make a list of meals for Monday-Thursday. Then on Sundays I have been doing all the food shopping for those meals.

I cook, cut, chop and bake for about 3-4 hours Sunday afternoon and in the end I have a fridge full of washed and cut fruits and veggies, all my meats cooked to toss into meals and meals made, covered and labeled so all I have to do is throw them in the oven or crock pot the morning of. I let the girls take turns planning the menu even down to the snacks and desserts for the week. Last week I made gluten free brownies and also blueberry/raspberry muffins that we enjoyed all week long.

Then the menu gets written up on this cute re purposed window pane covered with chalk board paint. I found it for $20 at a cute little antique store near our house. I get SOOOO tired of hearing my kids ask at 8am,"What's for dinner?" I know bad mom but whatever....I have barely gotten my bearings for the day and they want me to think about the dinner plans? Ugh! So now no more questions about food. They look forward to seeing the menu on the kitchen counter and it's settled. Peace on earth....

I  might have picked this up at the antique store as well.......It's in my laundry room and if you sent us a Christmas card your up there on the wall of fame. I have a love hate relationship with laundry. I love clean underwear but I hate washing them. There I said it. This brightens my day when I see your smiling faces and reminds me to pray for you.

The reason our school year is going to be so crazy is because the girls are both in dance. I don't know if I mentioned this in my last post but Morgan is also dancing on the competitive dance team this year so between the two girls I am at 10 dance classes a week. Uh huh, go ahead say it, you know you want to. I'm nuts! Yup' pretty much. Hence the reason for making healthy meals ahead of time and trying to save any ounce of sanity I may have left. 

Luckily they started back to dance two weeks before school starts so I am slowly getting back into the swing of things. Not totally being thrown in the fire with everything all at once. I do love watching them dance and yes to make sure you know I am nuts I go to and stay at every class. Well, Dan helps when he is home. But mostly I am the one there. I love it. I get offers to carpool and I can't hardly do it because the kids are so fun to watch. My biggest fear is that as I near 40 my butt is going to spread from here to kingdom come because of all the hours I sit on it watching dance. Ha! Anyways, I have a feeling its going to be a fun year. I'm excited about our 6th year of home schooling and third year of dance. I can't promise I won't be drooling on myself by May but I just keep telling myself,"Breath in, breath out." :) Have a blessed week and enjoy your kids!