Like most little girls, there is a deep love for Hello Kitty in our home, so it was especially cool to see when our favorite Misha Lulu did a collaboration with them. I have previewed the new coming line and it is just even more pretty and fun.

I remember when I was a little girl, I would bug my parents to take me to the Sanrio store once a week. I remember getting pencil boxes, erasers, pencils, ring watches, little notebooks, wallets, and the list could go on forever. I would be so proud of my little goodies and would have them all perfectly lined up in my pencil case and would proudly display them on my desk at school. I was even such a fan of Sanrio all the way up into high school. In high school, my favorite was Pochacco. Oh man, the memories! Anyone have a similar love for that store growing up?

I am glad my girls get to share in the Sanrio love too. That is the one store that we take them once in awhile to pick up some goodies, especially after they get their shots. Hello Kitty does a good job soothing any little tears!

Last Friday, we made banana chocolate chip muffins. I had everything measured out and the girls did each step and wrote it down as they did it. Going through sequencing has become a baking ritual of ours. After which, True asked, “Mom, can you put this on your blog so everyone will know how to make it?”

It came out yummy, but my girls and I are pretty easy to please when it comes to sweet stuff. We sort of used this recipe, but modified it with more cinnamon, whole wheat flour, and added chocolate chips. It’s all gone now, so obviously, we loved it.

This weekend was busy with taxes and house stuff. I hate taxes, but I am sure everyone does. Also, we are doing some house renovating and getting ready to change out our nasty carpet. We are considering the brand Kährs which is made in Sweden, but there are mixed reviews online, so if any of you overseas have an opinion or know about this brand, please do share! Also, we are probably leaning toward white wood floors (yes, I know, that’s a dangerous idea, but it’s always been my dream), would love to hear your opinions on them if you have ever had them.

Gotta get through five more days until Ben is home with us for a month. Yay!!!

P.S. One of fave shops, Ms. Tips, also happens to be a sponsor, is having a 25% sale until the end of this month. So hurry!

One week left and Ben takes his paternity leave. So happy! You bet I will be drinking some mimosas next Saturday morning to celebrate!

This week’s learned and links…

– Glow is getting ready for crawling mode.

– Brave’s been extra feisty towards her sister lately. Not good.

– Soul must always go to nap with a stack of books.

– Any sort of house renovation or changing is fun, but can be a headache. Oye!

– Read a book just for fun. I miss reading!

– Love the color on my pansy shoes c/o modcloth. They make me smile when I look down!

– Going to check out the Fallen Fruit in our area (learned from Stephmodo) soon.

– Had dinner with two of my bestest gal pals on Monday and just had a blast joking and laughing about everything. We’ve been friends forever and though we don’t see each other much, so it is always fun to catch up!

Kids are in bed and now off to eat some homemade sushi with Ben. Enjoy your weekend!

I used one of the beaded necklaces that I got from the thrift store eons ago and with a little bit of fabric, it is completely different and much more pizazzy! Now I just need to make Ben take me out on a date so I can wear it or I guess I could just wear it around the house for fun. Either way, this necklace is a pretty little project for yourself or as a gift! Don’t you think?

One of the best things about meal planning is that we are all spending so much time together and eating and talking in the evenings. I really enjoy our dinnertimes!

Monday, we ate Spaghetti and Meatballs…

I actually kinda winged this meal. I am getting slightly more adventurous dabbling here and there. I looked up a few different meatball recipes and once I figured out the gist, I did it myself. I used the bread crumbs we had from this recipe with finely chopped garlic, onions, and parsley, along with one egg and about a quarter cup of parmesan, and mixed it together with a fork. Then, rolled them up into balls and lightly pan fried them and they came out really yum! I don’t typically like meatballs, but these ones I liked. And topped on whole wheat spaghetti is just perfect.

To celebrate The Great Meatout on Tuesday, we had Simple Tomato Soup and Garlicky Spinach…

Soul and Brave pretty much gobbled this up really fast. I put the soup on top of brown rice and white beans and it was a good combo. Plus, add that dollop of coconut milk (I used reduce fat) and the flavors were really good. My change in the recipe is to use half the olive oil and reduce fat coconut milk and it feels much better to eat. The spinach dish was loved so much that I made it twice this week.

Thursday was for Pizza with Garlic Cream and Arugula…

This was my favorite dish of the week. I used this focaccia bread recipe for the dough and I didn’t use heavy cream, but non-fat milk mixed with two tbsp of flour to thicken it up. I think the cream came out pretty good despite the omission of fat. Also, we couldn’t find nettles, so we used arugula, which is the suggested substitute. We have enough leftover, so just thinking about it is making me excited about eating it for lunch tomorrow.

Another winning week for family meals. Ben loves it, the girls love it, then that’s good enough for me.

We’ve come a long way since the beginning of the school year. My mom homeschooled my siblings and me (I only did it in high school) and I got my Multiple Subject Teaching Credential and taught fourth grade, but homeschooling and teaching my own kid how to read seriously terrified me. Like seriously.

We have been reading together since she was a little babe, but I didn’t officially start teaching her how to read until she reached kinder. Partially because I was nervous and part because I didn’t want to rush it and just let her explore being a little toddler. The beginning of the school year was tough. I had just had a baby, on top of already having three little ones, and just diving into homeschooling. What comes so natural and easily to me, was a new and foreign skill to True, so we started at the very beginning… a, e, i, o, u.

I remember moments of wanting to pull my hair out because I wanted her to get it, and she would get it, and then one minute later forget it and it felt like we were starting all over again. I would call my BFF who is still currently a teacher and has always worked with the beginning grades to vent and figure out if I was doing things alright and she said yes, but just be patient. Patient. I needed a whole lot of that!

Fast forward to 6 months later and by golly, True’s got it! We’re working on fluency and she has still got more skills to learn as we are now tackling vowel pairs and silent letters, but we are getting there. She can read short little books. She knows her short vowels, digraphs, blends, and certain sight words and we just have to keep trudging along. This little girl of mine can even write short little stories! They are mostly written phonetically, so spelling is no biggie right now, but they are her stories and all because she knows her sounds and can read.

It is such a happy feeling as a parent and I can see the joy she has when reading and writing her stories. It just gives her another way to express herself and that is the best thing. Now, I still have 3 little ones, so I have to do this three more times and no doubt I will have more moments of wanting to pull out my hair.

When I take a step back and look at the progress though, it really is amazing. I love having this opportunity to teach my children and even though I am a stay home mama, I still get to use my schooling on my children. True can read and I have had the privilege of being part of that journey for her. It’s not an easy one, but it’s making memories together that counts! And I get the joy of doing this three more times…