Really? December? Already? Surely, I am not the only one that feels that way. November was good, but we never got to do our fall-ebration dinner. That’s life though. We have some traditions, but if we don’t get to it, that’s alright. At least that is what I try to tell myself after getting frustrated for missing it. It is so busy here and we really can’t do it all.

If you think I keep a well maintained house, manage to dress myself and my girls daily, and cook gourmet dinners every night, then you got it all wrong. We only get dressed when we know someone is coming over (even then, usually only 2 of the 4 girls are dressed), my house is really such a mess right now, and I rarely cook dinner. And most times I feel we are popping in some frozen food from Trader Joe’s. We so need to get on some meal planning schedule for our home. Guess that can be a new year goal.

Some things that will make this month all sorts of busy…

– Soul turns two on December 3rd.

– Ben turns 37 on December 11th.

– Also, Ben’s sister has her birthday on Dec. 4th, his mom Dec. 18th, and my brother Dec. 19th.

– Jesus’ birthday is the biggest party of them all.

– Excited to gather with my church family with new little Glow in tow. I have missed fellowshipping with everyone.

– Holiday parties and family gatherings.

– Getting ready to host our first Christmas family dinner.

– Prepping for our New Year’s Eve Bratcher dance party.

Me oh my! I am kinda nervous thinking about it all. And yes, I dyed my hair. I wanted to do something different and fun, though we still have one more step until my hair is where I want it. It is kinda nice having a sister who is a hairstylist.

Happy December 1st everyone! What are you most looking forward to this month?

There isn’t much time these days to sew, but I did manage to get some in while True was at school, Soul and Glow were napping, and Brave was occupied with Charlotte’s Web. Two of these dollies are making a little trip north to this house just in time for Christmas and one is going to be gifted to Soulie for her birthday. My baby turns two this Saturday!

These two dollies are a new little twist on my Lela doll, which I made many moons ago. Then the ballerina doll below is fashioned after the ballerina one I made for True awhile ago too. I did change things up slightly with my favorite part being her ballet shoe laces.

I must admit having four girls is a whole lot of fun when it comes to crafting and sewing. That is what got me sewing in the first place. After I had True, all I wanted to do was sew her dresses and skirts and ever since then my sewing machine has been busy!

Hi! I am Rubyellen from Cakies and I have four little girls, all under the age of 6 and they keep me quite busy. I don’t have much time to be baking fancy things, so I like to make things that are quick and easy, but still give a whole lot of yum! This recipe here is something my mom frequently made when I was little and I love that I now get to make them for my little ones. It is also the perfect little thing to make for some of your holiday gift giving too. Enjoy!!!

This little lady was quite helpful and got herself ready for school all by herself. Kinda nice since it frees me up so I can get changed and the other girls ready. I think she was going for her own sort of bohemian look. Kid version. Ooh! Gives me an idea… I should make her a long flowy skirt. I think she would love that. Will definitely add that to my project list!

Ah! It’s the last day of November. I can hardly believe it!

I seriously slept in up until the minute Ben declared he was leaving for work. He is such a trooper in the mornings, getting all the three big girls fed, making his own lunch, and ironing is his own clothes. Once this baby starts sleeping through the night, I definitely want to get back to waking up a tad earlier.

This was definitely a slow Monday after the long holiday weekend. I did need a jumpstart of pumpkin bread sprinkled with chocolate chips, warmed up a bit, and served with a side of pumpkin ice cream to help with the laziness. That was a perfect cure to the lazies. Then, it was off to (home)school we go.

It is amazing to watch the progress of True and Brave. Seriously. I know I was a teacher before, but I was very skeptical of my ability to teach them how to read. I taught fourth grade, not kinder, so I was quite scared of the whole beginning process. I love upper grade curriculum, so teaching little ones scared the daylights out of me. I think now we are at the point where they are able to put sounds together and make words and can read short sentences, so I am breathing much more easily.

More fun comes in when I am able to take history and science lessons and make a bit more fun out of it. I remember when I was teaching, I loved making pictorial charts to teach concepts and am so glad that my girls are visual learners too. As I talk about a story in history or science, I draw it out and it really sticks to their minds so much more and it helps when they have to retell it back to me. For those curious, I use Story of the World for my history and My Body for science. Some days I miss the challenge of being in the classroom, but I am glad that now I get the best of both worlds by making my home a classroom and having my girls for students.

Thanks to Ben’s mom and sister, we were able to escape a bit and go on a date. I got dolled up for my husband and we ventured out to go watch Breaking Dawn. It was really quite nice to hold hands and not strollers.

on me: tele-visionary top, c/o modcloth. black velvet blazer, vintage (was my mom’s). jeans, gap (love these so much!). shoes, seychelles. bracelets, some vintage and some from handmade by anne potter.

on ben: shirt, vintage. jeans, diesel. shoes, nike.

And I really was so excited to find a little spot with pretty Autumn leaves. You don’t see tree color changes much here in Southern California, so you can imagine my giddiness to find this little patch of Autumn perfection.

I love dates with my husband. I am already itching to go on another one. Have you gone on any fun dates lately?

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