Thirteen thoughts in April…

Feeling like I have a watermelon in my stomach. I am so thankful my children help me as much as they do. Picking up toys, making meals, bringing plates to the dinner table… they are wonderful helpers. Come evening time my entire midsection hurts and feels so hard, hello lots of Braxton Hicks at 30 weeks! Needless to say, I have a lot of feelings right now ;)

Bookmarking this toddler bunkbed from IKEA. I would love to add contact paper in a fun/colorful design and then add a curtain to the space below to give Natalie a little reading nook. This image has sparked my inspiration. Our plan is to put the three older kids in the master bedroom, move our bed to the medium sized bedroom, and then keep the nursery as-is. It’ll mostly serve as a playroom until the baby moves from a cradle in our bedroom to his or her crib (in the nursery).

Thinking about my evening bowl of cereal. Ha!

Noticing how much better a recent afternoon/evening at home went because I kept my focus on time pretty narrow. I didn’t let myself think much past the upcoming 30 minutes, instead I wanted to be present with what we were doing together while keeping joy close by. Even though I really thrive staying home with my children, sometimes it’s easy to get overwhelmed at the vastness of all there is to do.

Smelling my coconut milk conditioner…

Loving all the quirky things I have hung on the wall. From where I sit I can see a hand knitted garland in a bright peacock blue color, a ceramic swan coaster from Anthropologie (I hot glued a pop can tab to the back so it could be hung), and two wicker baskets.

Wondering if it will actually rain this week, as predicted…

Enjoying the sound of a quiet house (the kids are all tucked in bed).

Wishing for just the tiniest scoop of chocolate chunk ice cream ;)

Reading a few different books (the best way for me to read): The Hidden Art of Homemaking, Big Magic and Little Women (love this cover design). By the way, I’m working on a post all about homeschooling, which we started in March!!!

Cooking a savory pot roast this week, along with tacos, chicken & vegetable soup (remember the predicted rain?), and cinnamon french toast with bacon! All easy meals, but super flavorful and fun.

Making plans for a new embroidery design based on my favorite book, Madeline! I’m so excited.

Praying for the courage to live a little more adventurously.

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How about you? Meet me in the comments and chime in with a thought or two…