Patience is a Virtue (which I lack)

I think that I am given lots of opportunities to practice patience daily. But I obviously am not getting it very well because it's something I struggle with constantly. Lately it's mostly just little things that add up to make me a snippy mommy. 

Like people spilling their drinks a bajillion times a day. 

The excess toilet paper that is strewn around the bathroom floors or just thrown away when they pull off too much!! 

Or how the snow is starting to melt, so half of our backyard is now exposed with pure mud since we didn't have time to get a yard in before winter last year. We still have another month to go before we can put in a yard, but the extra laundry and daily mud and dirt that is smeared all over my back door and tracked into the house by well-meaning kids and a stupid dog, make me very impatient with trying to keep it clean. But Jake just paws at the door all the time and whines to come in which makes me feel like a big mean-y. But he's a dog, so it's totally cool that he's outside, right? I'm not that mean, right? Right?!

Also from the dog, he's shedding A LOT since it's warming up. I try to keep him outside ALL day, but there's still dog hair that collects in the corners and under the couches and sticks to clothes and drives me up the wall!!! 

Anybody want a dog? 

We're waiting to close, so I've been packing a lot. But I'm sort of at a stand-still because I can't very well pack up everything if we're going to live here for another week or two. So we're waiting. But whenever I have something big looming in the near-future, I feel like I don't know how to live normally anymore. I know that doesn't make any sense, but I'm just in this state of limbo and on-the-verge of a big change. 

I'm not trying to sound so negative. Yesterday was one of those days where it all caught up to me. But really life is so good and we are all healthy and happy, with so much to be thankful for. Of course there's little daily things that can seem really big if I let them. But the big picture, the important things...we're doing great.

We are most definitely enjoying all the extra light. It's quite a noticeable change with how much is added on each day and week. Our driveway is almost ice-free, and the sidewalk on the main road going to our park is melted now too which makes going on walks and pushing strollers so much easier. We are getting so antsy for summer and warm weather!!!

We are sort of in this rhythm where we do cleaning, school work, and activities in the morning, then try to spend the afternoons outside or running errands. It takes all day to warm up so that's the best time to be outside is late afternoon and evening.

 Building elaborate forts in the living room

 Tyler stays busy in the afternoons with practicing his hammering skills on extra pieces from when our fence was put in last year. He told me he's building a windmill, and is going to need some more wood. :) I'm sure our neighbors hate us for the pounding that goes on, but it makes him so happy and he feels like a man doing important building work.

One thing I love about homeschooling is the no-rush mornings. They can sit on the couch and read for as long as they're interested and that makes me happy.

Kelsey is quite obsessed with these "sparkle shoes" that she has recently grown into.

 I found this idea online to get shelf liner and those plastic yarn needles for kids to practice sewing. The holes are big and they loved it! Madison was a little young and lost interest after 30 seconds. But Tyler and Brynlee finished their creations. Ty made a monster face (of course) and Brynlee did a perfect rectangle. This is definitely something we'll keep doing.

 T & B enjoy "cooking" with the mud. They pretend they're adding in all sorts of ingredients with each shovel full of mud and stir it up with the board. Keeps them busy :)