November Update

I thought I'd share some of my favorite November memories and photos. It was a slow month for us and for that I am thankful. Usually the last few months before the new year are full of chaos and stress and it's been the opposite this year for us. 

One thing that we have been working on though is school. It's been a battle lately as lessons have gotten a little harder and Olivia's been having to write more. Some days we spent extra time on assignments and enjoyed them and other days I felt like we rushed through to get it done due to the sassiness and grumpiness. Anyone else have those days? 

We were glued to the TV in November and Livi got to learn lots about voting. 

The Mandalorian came back and it quickly became our Friday night Mando date night! We had lots of water painting days and Livi learned more about Frida Kahlo in Art class. 

Dannie worked from home a few days. 

Lots of school work and library days. 

Love our little unicorn family. <3

Most days were spent in our pajamas which we enjoyed. Days where we got out of the house Livi and I would have lunch dates in the car. Usually from Chick-Fil-A or McAlister's. 

Dannie's mom joined us on Thanksgiving. I'm happy to say everything turned out so yummy! I made my first pumpkin pie, BUT we did order a turkey from Honey Baked Hams. Not brave enough to ruin a turkey yet. 

We've also enjoyed quite a bit of Christmas movies while decorating and managed to take our own Christmas photos this year. 

And while Dannie put up Christmas lights, we magna-tiled the garage door. Such a simple, fun month! Can't wait to share December with you! <3 

 

Olivia's Nature Journal

 Olivia and I went to Sholom Park today to get a little break. It was one of those days where we needed a change of scenery because she was not happy with the school work and I was not happy with the sass. So, we loaded up with some snacks, some school worksheets, a quilt, and one of her books. After looking through her Woodland Book, she decided she wanted to make a nature journal. So, that's what she did and she wanted to share it with everyone. <3

She even took most of the photos. 

We're pretty sure these mushrooms are called Orange Bonnets. 

Livi says this is a table for some fairies. 

During our walk we read more of her book and it talked about trees having bumpy, knobby, faces on their bark. She thought that was pretty silly. 

Here are some of the items she collected and looked up in her book.

Livi thinks this flower looks like an x. 

She told me to pretend I was an explorer. 

Reviewed some Spanish. :)

First we did the school work, then we did the exploring. 

Thanks for coming along on our adventure at Sholom Park. Feel free to show her some love in the comments because she was super excited to post these here. <3

All Things Fun

 

Well, it's been awhile. Can't say a lot has happened. But, I have lots of photos and memories to share. We are trying to make the best out of this year. We had a few cooler days in September that we had to share with love bugs, but we tried to stay outside as much as possible. 

Livi started First Grade in August. We knew that it was going to be an adjustment going from playtime to school time. One month in and I was having my doubts. Mostly because it just felt like TOO MUCH work for first grade, but after talking to her teacher and some other moms, It got better. We were printing every single worksheet throughout the lesson and working through them. It was taking HOURS to finish school work. Her teacher told me that if she understands the lessons and feels confident that she can take the quizzes and turn in the assignments, then to move forward. So, instead of printing 8 millions pages we will verbally do the worksheets throughout the lesson and then get to the assignments due. I also looked ahead and saw that we will eventually get to space and nature themed lessons in Science, which she loves. 

She's flown through Art and will have her last DBA (discussion based assessment) next week. I can't believe she'll be done so fast, but she loved every project and did so good on them. I love her love for art. 

Other than school, we've gone to the library. Still making weekly trips. When the pandemic started the library was closed and then they went to curbside pickup. But, we've loved being able to go back in (obviously with our masks on.) She's also had a few infusions since July. We are loving the short infusions. They take 2 hours compared to the 4-5 hour days. 

A few things have opened here that we want to TRY and do. I'm a little nervous, so I'm thinking we'll go when it's slower. Like the Pickin Patch in Dunnellon. It's been a few years since we've gone, but I know that Liv enjoyed it in previous years. We went to the market and picked out pumpkins a few weeks ago and Livi painted hers. She wanted to carve it, but we explained to her that it's too hot here and it'll just rot. Well, she painted it and I noticed today it's still rotting. I assume the paint sogged it out (Thanks, Florida heat!) 

I'm 99 % sure we won't be trick-or-treating this year. So, we decorated more this year inside and out. Livi picked out what we thought was going to be her costume, but after wearing it everyday for two weeks we noticed how uncomfortable it was, so she picked out a second one. Can't ever have too many costumes. At least she wears them for years after purchasing. She will get to dress up for her infusion at the end of the month, so we're leaving that costume a surprise. 

We've started watching ALL the spooky halloween shows and movies. I'm actually all crafted out. I think we got all the wooden things from Dollar Tree and a few dollar bin things from Target. So, I'm going to need a break between now and December 1st. Until then, we'll pick up a few things here and there to stock up for Christmas crafts. She had a crafting day with her cousin, it was a bit chaotic because I didn't realize it was going to be so windy, but they still managed to finish and had such a fun playdate after. <3

We're pretty excited for cool nights around our fire pit. I'm not sure how Thanksgiving or Christmas will look this year, so we are just trying to do the best we can. I'm pretty sad those holidays will be celebrated different this year, but I don't want Livi to see that I'm upset over that, so just trying to make it the best for her. Seeing all the Christmas stuff at stores gets me so excited though! I know it's too soon, but I can't wait and I love that our house will be decorated from now until the end of the year. 

Today is Amazon Prime Day along with lots of other sales at other stores. I've searched and searched for gifts, but wasn't able to find what we've been looking for. I'm wanting to do more homemade, small shop gifts this year though. If you have any ideas for a 7 year old or geeky husbands, send them my way. 

Here's a few extra photos from some of our adventures. <3