Tag Archives: daily grind

Back to the Daily Grind in the New Year

Walking in High Cotton Posted on by 3

Well, the holiday is over. That sounds so sad! We’ve had a pretty busy holiday season. I don’t mention work (you know, my other job) very much around here, but in December I took a new position with the County. For the first time since graduating from college I’m no longer a Planner or working in the Planning Department. I had to move offices and I’m getting use to new co-workers, new office space, new routines, new personalities, new office supply order procedures… I’m excited about the job, but this … Continue Reading…

Busy Mom’s Dinner On-the-Go Solution {Easy Lunchbox Giveaway!!}

Walking in High Cotton Posted on by 10

I work. I mother. I farm. I keep house. (HaHaHa!) It’s fair to say we stay pretty busy during the school/work week. Last year I had finally worked out a dinner plan that managed to get us to prayer meeting on Wednesdays without resorting to fast food every single week (which wasn’t good for our budget or our stomachs!). We called it the frozen-pizza-every-Wednesday plan. Then we started soccer and a new school, and we weren’t home long enough to cook pizza and we were out of the house 3 … Continue Reading…

Top 10 Reasons to Attend Titus 2:1

Walking in High Cotton Posted on by 6

Last Spring I attended my first blogging conference. (Who knew there were such things, anyway?) I picked one close to home (actually, back in my “hometown” of Northern Virginia) and one that I saw lots of on-line friends chatting about. Titus 2:1 was about blogging and homeschooling–which was on my heart a lot the last year–so it seemed like a good fit. Little did I know how perfectly it would fit! Here’s 10 reasons YOU should consider attending the Titus 2:1 Conference–from someone who went last year and already registered for … Continue Reading…

Mod-Podge and Davy Crockett

Walking in High Cotton Posted on by 1

So, what does motherhood mean? Motherhood means going out in the yard in your slippers to rescue a rotting cow horn from the dog’s mouth to help your son become Davy Crockett. What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever had to Mod-Podge together at the last moment? This ranks right up there for me. The Cowboy watched Davy Crockett as part of his character research for his American Heritage Speech at school and got fixated on the powder horn. (Probably because I had already produced fringed pants, a coonskin cap, and … Continue Reading…

Carhartt Tough

Walking in High Cotton Posted on by 2

We’ve been watching and listening to all the politicking going on before the election and all the talk about jobs and unemployment and the middle class crunch, and Mr. Fix-It looked at me the other day and said–“We could hire people tomorrow–nobody wants to work.” He doesn’t mean nobody wants a job, he means there’s a lack of work ethic out there and people don’t want to get sweaty and dirty any more. Nobody wants “Dirty Jobs.” To add my own two cents, I also think we’re not doing a … Continue Reading…

The First Day Back to School

Walking in High Cotton Posted on by 1

Yes, it came last week. Again. The dreaded first day back to school…that they’ve been looking forward to for weeks. Truly, they have. They were so excited to start back.  Orientation on the 17th just fueled their little fires. They’ve been tired (very tired) but happy. I dropped them off the first day. This was our first time doing a drop-off line and not getting to walk them in. They did fine, waved good-bye, holler “I love you!” and headed inside. I waved good-bye, hollered “I love you!” drove 1500 … Continue Reading…

Bucket List for “Me Time”

Walking in High Cotton Posted on by 7

I seem to have a much better attitude about our crew being gone this week than I have for past Mimi visits. But I still find it strange and unsettling not to have the kiddos around at all. I miss them. Our house, our life, is so empty without them. It makes my heart go out to all the families that I know are longing and praying for the pitter-patter of little feet in their home–even if I know it’s more like the thundering of migrating wildebeests than the pitter-patter … Continue Reading…

Random Mondays

Walking in High Cotton Posted on by 3

Friday the kiddos finished up their last day at YMCA camp (we lost another towel and water bottle, and Speedracer’s lunchbox–although we found that again by the end of the week) and we packed up to head to Mimi’s house for a week. Well, they’re going for a week–Mr. Fix-It and I headed home on Sunday morning. Here’s some randomness from my phone camera over the last few days… We’ve been doing some nature studies and nature journaling and it’s amazing to see how the kids eyes have really opened … Continue Reading…

Surviving Day Camp

Walking in High Cotton Posted on by 4

Our wonderful summer babysitter is on vacation this week, so we enrolled the kiddos in summer day camp at the local YMCA for the week. We didn’t have a lot of options, and they run their program week by week so we could sign them up just for this week and the week in July that we’ll need coverage while our sitter is at camp herself. And hey, camp is fun, right? The first day I picked them up–not knowing what to expect–Speedracer saw me, picked up his stuff while … Continue Reading…

Top 10 Toys for Young Boys

Walking in High Cotton Posted on by 3

I was so excited to stop by the Vision Forum the other day and check out their new book series–Drums of War. Why? Because I have boys and boys love adventure! And as a busy, but intentional parent, if I can add history, patriotic values, faith, morality and character to their love of adventure…well, what else can a parent ask for? Which got me thinking about what else we fill our boys time with. Since it’s Tuesday, here’s our favorite top 10 toys for young boys (in no particular order). … Continue Reading…

The Nuances of Parenting

Walking in High Cotton Posted on by 6

You know the one thing that I wish people had told me about being a parent–which I probably wouldn’t have understood anyway–before our kiddos were born? That the nuances and complexities of raising good kids is mind-blowing. People always want to talk about 2 am feedings and diaper blow outs and finger painting on the dining room walls–well, where’s the crash course on directing a preschooler’s sense of moral outrage or balancing honesty with natural consequences? Parenting is not for the faint-of-heart. Since the animals are on pasture, we’re back … Continue Reading…

The Working Mom-Sick Kids Shuffle

Walking in High Cotton Posted on by 2

Our crew has been seriously under the weather over here. Which is a shame since the weather has suddenly been so darn nice! It was in the 80s the last couple days! I think everyone seems to be on the mend–slowly. But it’s hard to tell with how dramatic the Cowboy is. Being sick brings out his inner movie star. He could wring sympathy from a rock when he gets to moping around here like he’s about to die, pulling that cheesy fake cough out of his pocket at a … Continue Reading…

How This Busy Mom Makes it Work

Walking in High Cotton Posted on by 2

Wednesdays are very hectic around here. We have all our normal chores, work, school, and then church in the evenings. And it’s double $1 coupon day at our grocery store too. I’ve been having trouble getting us all to church on Wednesday nights. It seems like the more we need to have a tight schedule and everything run perfectly, the more things fall apart. But we have a new plan! First, I’m going to STOP trying to do everything. Seriously. On Wednesdays my only goals are to go to work/school, … Continue Reading…

Walk With Me

Walking in High Cotton Posted on by 5

Would you like to take a walk with me? I’ll tell you a story. A story about a little boy who just turned 4 on Sunday. And the momma who’s still crying about it–on the inside.   He was a surprise for us. So was his dark hair. We were expecting those blue eyes though. They’re sort of a family tradition. We didn’t pick his name until just before he was born, in the labor and delivery room that morning. It surprised our Doctor when we said we hadn’t decided … Continue Reading…

When You’re Just Tired

Walking in High Cotton Posted on by 4

I’m having a hard time keeping my enthusiasm up this week. I feel like I’ve been going hard since last weekend and I’m just tired. It’s mental and physical this time, not just mental and emotional (like usual). I’ve been trying to revamp my diet, be more active, and cut back the caffeine (again) and my poor body is just like…WHAAAAAT  ARE YOU DOING TO ME??!! I’ve been trotting endlessly up and down the stairs with all this cleaning and organizing and my new commitment to better supervision and more … Continue Reading…