Merry Christmas!

I just wanted to take a moment to tell everyone that looks at my blog MERRY CHRISTMAS from our home to yours!

Basking in the joy that is "Christ"mas,
It's a Lacy Life

P.S.   I am still experiencing problems with posting pictures to my blog, if anyone knows why this is happening, please feel free to leave a comment on why and/or how I can fix this problem.  Thanks!

Greetings out there!

I am having some technical difficulties with my blog, and that is why I haven't posted in forever!  Hopefully I can get some things figured out so that I can catch my blog up (and my friends and family too) soon.

Thanks for reading and hoping to post more soon,
It's a Lacy Life

Happy Fall Y'all!

 

Greetings out there in cyberspace!  I know, I know, it's been a really long time!  Yes, it has, and I have a lot to share, I have a couple of blog posts about half done, but not the large chunk of time required to finish them up!   I never realize all of the things I have to blog about until I go looking through my pictures, and let me tell you...I have A LOT to report!  Unfortunately, that will have to wait for another day, hopefully soon I will be able to get them finished up for your reading and viewing pleasure!  :)  Be on the look out for "Summer Wrap-Up" (better late then never, right?), "Nature Girl Turns 11", "The Beginning of Another School Year", and "Be Careful Moms". 

 

Today I just wanted to check in and share a couple of things.  One is that we are well into our 2012-2013 school year-my 10th official year of homeschooling!  WOW!  Where does the time go???  We are having a lot of fun learning new things together, reviewing a lot of old stuff, and just being together this year (at least I am).  Isn't that at least one of the reasons most of us homeschooling moms homeschool, is because we have a love of learning and we feel/felt that our own educational experiences were...shall I say...sub par?!?! 

The other thing I felt like sharing today is something that I think is kind of funny, but kind of sad, too.  I was pondering this the other week, and I was wondering if this makes me a "bad mom"?  Okay, here goes...I've NEVER taken my children to the Apple Orchard!!!  Yep, that's right, NEVER!  Is that terrible or what?  Our homeschool support group recently had a field trip to a local Apple Orchard, and I starting getting the "guilty momma syndrome", because we'd never been together, and especially because my kiddos are getting older, and are almost or pretty much past their "Apple Orchard fun" prime!  I did not take them to the orchard for the field trip the other day, mostly because I didn't want the added stress of walking on my newly healed broken leg.  Don't worry, though, my kiddos HAVE been to the Apple Orchard, just not with me, but with my mom (thank you, mom, at least that helps with the "guilty momma syndrome" a little bit!), she brings them every year, in fact. 

That's all I've got, just a quick, true confession from a stay at home mom/homeschool mom trying to keep it real!  :)

God bless your week,
It's a Lacy Life

A Day in the Life (Just Thought I Would Share).

While walking up to my doorstep on Tuesday after running some errands, it became very obvious to me that I had been neglecting my responsibilities for keeping living things alive in my front yard.  This would include, but not be limited to, the grass, the kiddos planters, my planters, bushes, flowers, and... well... pretty much everything out there! 

I noticed that many of my plants were on the verge of death for lack of sufficient water.  I had grown accustomed to the nightly rain falls that we had been having earlier in the summer, but are now long gone.  This year I wasn't in my usual habit of watering everything in the mornings.  Plus, my broken leg has made it nearly impossible for me to do all of the watering myself, so I would send a child out there here and there to give the plants a good drink.  I decided to set up the sprinkler outside in the grass to perk things up a bit, strategically placing it so that my plants would receive a much needed drink as well as the now golden-browned grass.  Honestly, my grass appeared to be beyond help, but I decided to try and bring it back to at least a green-ish-type color anyways.   

Since it was a really HOT and humid day here (92 degrees), and I had just got home from running errands in my extra HOT Suburban that doesn't have working air conditioning, I decided to ask the children if they would like to run through the sprinkler out in the front yard (just like ol' times!).  My question was only half serious, but somewhat hopeful, thinking that possibly our days of sprinkler-running were behind us, as it seems at every turn I am reminded of the fact that my brood of 4 children, are just simply growing up on me.  (SIGH)  :) 

After I threw that out there, not thinking much about it, and not thinking anyone would really take me up on my offer (except my youngest-whom had been trying to avoid his school work all day long) I retreated to the kitchen to put the finishing touches on my summer dinner of chicken and cold tuna salad. 

Well...much to my surprise, and to the delight of my heart, about 10 minutes into my dinner preparations, my ears heard the giddy yells, joyful shrieks, and just all round happy noises of 3 of my children frolicking in the front yard enjoying some old fashioned fun!  Alas... they were indeed running through the sprinkler!  YES!  They're not THAT grown up!  :)

It was one of those moments that melts away all of the cares and stresses of my monotonous days filled with shuttling the kiddos to and fro, errands, cooking, cleaning, schooling, disciplining, fussing, refereeing, scheduling, and on and on.  Gone were the cares of my morning and afternoon that had me tired, stressed out, feeling behind, standing in line at the post office for 25 minutes (just to remember when I finally got up to the front of the line, that I forgot to do something with the package, so now I must go home again, open the package, deal with it, and then re-seal the package to be sent out again), and then go wait another 20-30 minutes in line at the post office again(!),  the errands that I planned to have done hours before so that I could spend the remainder of my "free" day at home in the school room planning and preparing to begin our new school year next week...and on and on!  It was one of those days that just didn't seem to go my way from the time I put my feet on the ground in the morning! 

These are the sights and sounds that soothe the soul of a stressed out, worn out, tired, and all around weary mother of children!  All I can say is...THANK GOD for these sounds today!!!!!  I went from being a totally stressed-out, (probably) grumpy, weary, pity-party of 1, wanting to hang it all up and jump in bed with a good movie, but knowing that is not realistic for a "manager" of her home... to being a humbled, grateful mother of children in .5 seconds!  :) 

Here are some of the sights I saw in my front yard when I got out there...

Here are some of the sounds I heard from my kitchen coming in the window from my front yard...enjoy!:)

  

Humbled and grateful and hoping you are enjoying the squeals of your children today, too!
It's a Lacy Life

Kitchen Makeover.

  We have lived in the same house for over 14 years now.  For anyone that has ever bought a house, or even just moved from one place to another, you know that feeling of "dreaming" of what this new space could be with just a little effort...right?  I think this is especially true for women.  We see a room with white walls and look at it as a blank canvas awaiting our creative input.  We immediately want to make it beautiful in some way... maybe it's curtains, new paint, a few pictures hung on the walls, a border...the list of things you can do to beautify a room is endless!  Thankfully we live in a time and place where these types of things are readily available and relatively inexpensive.  It makes beautifying a room fairly easy and attainable for pretty much everyone.

  Back to the story of where we've lived for the past 14+ years.  :)  Since the first time we looked at this house, even before purchasing it, I've wanted to change the counter tops in the kitchen.  You know how it is, women out there, you spend the BULK of your time in the kitchen, so you buy a house based on if the kitchen will "fit" or "work" or NOT... right?  Now, the counter tops in my kitchen WERE perfectly functional, however they were NOT perfectly neutral!  :)  In fact, they were so not-neutral, that I've had a slate BLUE kitchen for the past 14+ years in this house!  And guess what?  My kitchen was BLUE in the townhouse we lived in prior to that, and in my apartment prior to that, so I have actually had a BLUE kitchen for over half of my life, and for all of my adult "living on my own" life!  LOL! 

  Please don't mistake my ramblings as complaining, I am, and always have been, very thankful for this beautiful house the Lord has provided for my family.  But even though I am very thankful for this house, like I mentioned before, there are always those things that you want to change and/or do to make the house more usable, functional, and yes, sometimes just more beautiful.  :) 

  Here are some before, during, and after pictures of the semi-makeover (more like a face-lift) that I recently got in my kitchen.  Enjoy the tour!

BEFORE (Please excuse my dirty old sink, I didn't bother cleaning it since I knew I was getting a new one!)...

DURING (YAY!  Finally, the BLUE is in my driveway, and NOT in my kitchen!)...

AFTER...

  What a difference a new counter top and sink make!  This makeover came in at just around $700, which included all supplies, the counter top, sink, and faucet, and hiring the job out, so that my husband didn't have to do the work himself this time.  That was a real blessing for him, as he pretty much does all of the repairs, updating, and fixing up around here.  However, since our contractor had to re-schedule from Wednesday to Saturday, and my dear husband was home during the install, he found himself unable to resist staying out of the "work zone" the whole day, and he did end up helping out quite a bit!  LOL!  :)

Thanks for reading!

It's a Lacy Life

Caution: Walking Can be Dangerous Stuff!

  Greetings out there!  I don't really have a lot to share today, writing wise, I am just doing a quick blog post to let everyone out there know to BE CAREFUL!!!  Apparently walking is dangerous business, can be hazardous, and should not be taken lightly...or for granted, as I am now learning!  LOL!  This is what can happen when you are simply walking into a building and not paying close attention to potholes that may be lurking in your path!  My first broken bone ever, in 30-(something) years!  So please be careful out there!  :)

TRYING to take it easy,

It's a Lacy Life

P.S. Obviously there was no Garage Sale Treasure (look here to see what others found) hunting for me this week, but I am hoping to be (literally) "back on my feet" garage saling soon. :)

What a Deal #5

  Greetings out there!  We have not really done any garage sale-ing the past 3-4 weeks but before you think I was teasing you with the title, rest assured, I do have some deals to share with you.  One shopping trip was from over a month ago during a thrift store shopping trip with Amish Girl on her birthday (I told you I would share the deals I found on another day. :) )  Also, my favorite local thrift store had a 50% off day, so I have things from that day to share as well.  Add to that, I did manage to find 1 garage sale this past Thursday while out and about running errands, where I found a few much needed clothing items for one of my children.  This should be a pretty big "deals" post.

  Okay, so the first and most exciting thing that I have to share with you is from my first deal-finding excursion with Amish Girl on her birthday.  Amish Girl has been wanting a "hope chest" for quite a while, and I had thought about getting her one for her birthday, but we had another plan for her birthday gift (her laptop), so there wasn't really any money to work with for a hope chest.  My mom was looking for one for her online, and all she was finding were ones in the $100 and up price range, and I knew that was out of the question, so I was postponing that thought for a later date.  Well... much to my surprise, when we went up to the Goodwill, we happened to find a brand new, unpainted, wooden chest that will be great for this purpose for just $5.00!  What a deal!  I can afford $5.00!!!  I had even found some brand new paint at a garage sale a while ago for just .75 cents for each can, that I bought for another project that I have for the girls.  That way, she can personalize it, decorate it, and make it beautiful in any way she sees fit!  :)  Here is a before picture, I will have to post the "after" pictures on another day, after the 2 projects are complete.

  Here is another picture of deals I found that same day.  That big basket is actually a really nice size for books, magazines, and such.  I paid $2.99 for the big one and .99 cents each for the 2 small ones, which are great for hanging on the wall or on a coat rack for keys, mail that needs to be dropped off, stuff you need to return to a friend, etc.  I have one hanging basket hung up by my front door  already being used for this purpose, and the large one is in my bedroom holding my reading materials that always seem to accumulate on my side in my bedroom.  Now on the books in the picture, I paid anywhere from .15 to .99 cents for.  We have a C.S. Lewis book, a David Livingston biography, a Miller (Missionary) book, an animal devotional, a teen devotional, a biographical story of a U.S. fighter pilot, and a book on Israel and America.

  Here are the deals I found at my favorite local thrift store, whose prices seem to keep going up, up and up!  Because of that, I haven't really been shopping there much, but they had a 50% off sale day, and I was on the hunt for a few things, so I decided to check it out.  Pictured are a Speedo swim suit for Amish Girl for $2.00 (pretty much just what we were looking for-black to go with her 2 pairs of swim shorts and Speedo brands seem to cover very well, and do not fade and are good quality suits that last).  Also pictured is a pair of swim trunks for All Star Boy, which just happen to be exactly the same pattern and everything as his last pair, just in a bigger size, and were $3.  This was quite a relief, as we have searched, and searched, and searched for swimming stuff for the 2 of them for a long time, and haven't really been too successful at finding what they needed (Thin children and swimsuits...it's a challenge to find a good fit)!  Also pictured are shirts for both Amish girl (the one with the little green apples on it and was $2.50) and Nature girl (the one with the horses on it and was $2) and a pair of sleep Capri's for Nature girl- which she really needed, and were $1.25!  

  Pictured next is a Hodge-podge of things: books, games, a DVD, a basket and beads also from that thrift store.  The books were either .35 or .75 cents, there are 3 Abeka biographies, a biography of David Livingston, 4 school books, a Native American historical fiction book, a My America book, 2 other Christian books and a Usborne adventure book just for fun!  The games were .50 cents (not pictured- In A Pickle), a Christian version of the Ungame for $2.00, and a Bible trivia game for $3.50.  We are always up for a good, fun, family game around here, and so I am always on the lookout for new, good, fun games to play as a family or with friends!  There is also a basket that was .50 cents, a DVD called "A More Perfect Union" about America becoming a nation for .80 cents, and my kiddos love to create with those Pearler beads, so I got that brand new bucket for $3.

  These shorts that The Entertainer is modeling just happen to be the exact same shorts that All Star Boy already has, and so I bought these just for fun, so they could match each other!  They think it's pretty cool, since they never really have matching outfits (the girls often do since they are so close in size and their just arent' that many different Lands End dresses out there!  LOL!)  I had to wash these outfits for them twice the first week they had them, they wanted to wear them again for the 4th of July gathering at our friends house!  So cute!  :)  I paid $2.50 for the shorts and $3.50 for the shirt to match at the thrift store.

  Here is a new pair of summer PJ's that Nature Girl really needed.  These were brand new with tags still on them for $3.50.

  Next up is All Star Boy in his new jeans and new shirt.  Those jeans were $2.00 and were brand new with the tags still on, and the shirt was .75 cents.  In the picture below is this same outfit along with another pair of the exact same jeans, but those were just $1, (I guess because they did not have the tags on them) and another pair of pants that were $1, and did have the tags on them.  It was a blessing to find these few items for him, because last winter he outgrew pretty much ALL of his pants!  These growing children!  Wow, they grow out of things fast sometimes!  I got these at a garage sale on Thursday.

  That's about all I have.  Some of the clothes I found at the thrift store were a little on the expensive side for my liking but I always try and remember that it's still cheaper than what you would pay at a retail store.  Also, if it's something we really need or something that would go great with an item I already own, or if it's just exactly what I am looking for, then it's usually worth it in the long run to just go ahead and get it when I see it.  I find that I can spend more money in time and gas just looking for that "perfect" thing at that "perfect" price, than if I would have paid a little more than I would have liked to when I had seen it in the first palce.  :)  I hope you enjoyed reading about my finds and looking at all my pictures.

Happy bargain shopping to you! 

It's a Lacy Life

Happy Independence Day!

Happy Independence Day!!!

Spring Fever!

  Greetings and Happy Spring everyone!  I thought since springs almost over  it would be a good time to make a spring post.  Remember my motto...better late than never!  :)  My calendar actually says that the official first day of summer is...um...well...today!  Oops!  Well, in my defense, it WAS still spring back when I first started this post back on May 19.  Oh well...Happy Summer, then, and Happy (belated) Spring to all!

  Here are a few pictures of the plants/flowers that have been blooming and/or showing up around my house...

  Iris' are such a delicate looking, beautiful flower, but are plenty hardy and come back every year in full force, even with our COLD Minnesota winter weather.  :)

  Don't you just adore Gerbera Daisies?  They are one of my favorite's, and this one was a Mothers Day gift for me from my mom.  Ooh...Ahh...now I know where fireworks get their inspiration...doesn't it remind you of a firework up in the sky?

  These are one of my absolute favorite flowers, Lilly of the Valleys.  This patch is planted right next to the stairs that lead to my front door, so I smell them every time I walk up to there, while they are in bloom, of course, which is for just a short time...what a great fragrance these give off and a great Mothers Day surprise every year! 

 

  Ahh...Lilacs...aren't Lilacs wonderful???  Another one of my favorites, and these beauties are another wonderful Mothers Day surprise every year!  I believe these bushes were strategically placed by the previous owners of our home, so that the fragrance comes right into the house through the kitchen window.  It's always been my favorite part of washing dishes in the spring, to stand there while washing dishes and smell the lilacs when they are in bloom.  I had a better picture of this massive bush, but I believe it got deleted by my husband for a more "important" picture in a "bind".  LOL!

  This beautiful Amaryllis was given to me from a good friend at Christmastime, and it was so beautiful when it finally bloomed, and while it lasted!  :)  Thanks friend!  :)

                                                        Tulips...a classic beauty!  :)

                            Asiatic Lilly... such a delicate beauty with the stargazer effect!

  Look at my chives.  Aren't they nice looking?  I really enjoy the way they look, and they are "pretty" and "practical", because they taste great on baked potatoes, too!  Yum!  I've had to transfer them every year since I've had them, because they keep getting bigger and bigger, and they actually come back every year in a planter for me.  I've had this bunch of chives for about 3-4 years now, and this is the very first year they have ever bloomed for me.  That may be due to the "chive thieves" that I have running around here who like to "snack" on these beauties all summer long!  ("Chive thieves" = 2 of my children, I won't name names...but their "chive breath" always gives them away!  LOL!). 

  These are my Morning Glories I start from the same seeds every year.  I think I've had them for about 10 years or more, using the same flowers/seeds to start new planters every year. I have 3 of these that sit along my retaining wall in my front yard.

 

  Okay, so for Mothers Day, my favorite thing to do-besides the blessing of NOT having to cook all day, and besides being able to go out to a nice yummy restaurant of my choosing, and besides honoring my own mother and mother-in-law on this day- is to plant/garden on Mothers day. Because of the busyness of the day this year, I was not able to plant or garden this year on that actual day, but it's been getting done slowly but surely.  Actually, because we are trying to get our house on the market to sell, I am not planting a "big" garden in my back yard this year, and am living vicariously through my friend's garden over at my life on taffy pull (if you click her blog name, you can tour her beautiful garden).  But I still do several flower/plant planters, and vegetable planters as well, along with the children's planters that they do every year. 

  For several years now, on Mothers day, we have gone and bought all of the plants for mine and the kiddos planters, and we all try and plant them together on that day as well.  Each of the kiddos has their own planter that they choose the plants for, and they are either displayed in the front of the house or we use them to brighten up our long driveway.  Sometimes the children choose flowers, sometimes plants, and sometimes even vegetables, but I let them choose whatever they like.  They really have a good time with this.  It's been a tradition that we started several years ago, and I would love to keep it going as long as they are enjoying it.  Here are some of the pictures of us planing their planters this year, and of the plants they chose to plant as well, since you might not really be able to see them in their pots until they get a little bigger. 

Here's a close-up of these same planters:

  That's about all I have to share right now, but I will leave you with a few more pictures after I close.  I hope you are enjoying your spring/summer and taking some time to "stop and smell the Roses" (or the Lilacs, or the Lilly's, or whatever it is that you have to smell that is lovely) during this wonderful time of year.

Rejoicing in all the Glory of God's beautiful world and wonderful creation,

It's a Lacy Life

P.S.  We did actually end up clearing out the garden and planting the tomato plants back there, along with some onions, and some strawberry plants my dear friend gave me, so in the interest of full disclosure, I thought I would mention that.  I hope to plant a few faster growing things if the strawberries don't end up coming back to life-we let them sit too long out of soil, I think- but I am "babying" them to see if they will live.  Here's a picture of our garden behind our garage.

P.P.S.  I also thought I should mention that a lot of the beautiful flower pictures were taken by my daughter, Amish Girl, the budding photographer.