A Friendly, Fun, Fruitful Filled Friday Review

It's been a busy week over here at the Soto dwelling. The girls & I had not 1, but 2 lunch dates with dear friends from the old work family; Spicy's regular weekly classes; Aunt Tita's distant birthday celebration that involved a morning birthday card-making craft, a trip to the post office not once but twice & a loud obnoxious lovely singing assemblage; lots of little, fun projects around the house like showcasing our most recent family photo shoot pics & a 2nd hand-made chalkboard...

 painting & relocating this mirror...

 and making some art work (finally) & moving hand-made chalkboard #1 into Spicy's room. 

 It's also been a very busy and productive week on the exterior remodel: digging trenches, laying pipes for electrical, gas, drainage, sprinklers, etc, leveling dirt, breaking up concrete, forming and more all to get ready for pouring cement a week from tomorrow! So excited for that day. Not only will it make a huge difference aesthetically but also functionally (meaning I won't have to vacuum/sweep/mop floors daily. No joke. Not fun!)  This guy is still going strong.

And well, in my down time, I've got a toddler climbing on my back or yanking on twirling my hair to fall asleep while baby numero dos is on my breast. Yes, I am aware it sounds like they are leeches. The thought does cross my mind, you know.  

Phew.  Pause to catch my breath.

The other big event happening over here is that Spicy is now officially enrolled in school! Daddy and I teamed up to teach her first lesson last night. Yes, as in homeschooling.  Shriek! Gasp! Cough! Yes, I am very aware of the typical, oh so common, knee-jerk reactions in response to that blasphemous "h" word. Trust me, we've heard it all. But for those of you that are immediately flooded with negative images, like say, an antisocial freak wearing braids and long skirts, let me ease your anguish. Think of it rather as a distance learning, online Academy in which Big D & I are the facilitators & will be assured that our children receive the best (Orthodox) Catholic education possible that we believe even (& especially nowadays) traditional Catholic private schools can not achieve. And I assure you, our kids will be anything but antisocial and unfashionable. Pinky swear. As for weird, I can't make any promises. ha! Anyway, we now have in our possession the curriculum for Reading (to begin with Latin), Writing and Arithmetic. It may take her one year to master or (more than likely) three years but the beauty is we can take it at our pace, tailor it to her specific learning style and maximize her potential accelerating as much as we see fit. I must admit I am both nervous and excited but when my negative, intimidated, anxious nature gets the best of me, Daddy sure has an incredible way using reason, logic and emotion to edify and empower me, refocusing me on my primary purpose to teach my children in the way of holiness. 

Have I stated lately how much I looooove taking care of these two? Well, just in case I haven't and for the scrapbook recording, I absolutely, positively LOVE my job of loving them all day every day! 

But I better not blog the whole nap time break away. I've gotta prep for dinner. We have a special guest coming over tonight...  Give up? Ok, I'll tell you...It's Auntie Neenee!! We have much to catch up on over baked Wild Alaskan salmon, grilled veggies, rice pilaf and wine, of course. Maybe we will end the night with a group trip over to our favorite nearby yogurt shop.

Have a splendid weekend everyone!