It's Sunday Already ... Time for another Week in Review:

This week seemed to fly on by.  Most of my days were pretty fun, though Wednesday was quite challenging.  That was the day that I only had 3 kids and thought that it would be a breeze.  Of course, it wasn't a breeze at all.  It all depends on the personalities who are in the group.  Either they clash or they mesh.

But, Thursday was another day, and we got a lot done and had fun ... including a cool science experiment that I found online:

All  you need is a tray, food coloring, baking soda and vinegar.  Add a few kids and you are ready to go.

First, I had the kids taste the baking soda, explaining that it was okay to have a tiny bit of it and that some people used baking soda for toothpaste.  They loved the baking soda and tried to keep eating it!  Then, I had them dip their finger in the vinegar and taste it, as I explained that you use vinegar to make pickles.  They were more neutral on the taste of the vinegar than they were on the baking soda.  

The kids each placed drops of  food coloring into the tray.  I gave them a Dixie cup of baking soda each, and they poured it on top of the food coloring.  Then, they each got a cup of vinegar and poured it on top of the other stuff.  It was so cool!  Foaming rainbow colors faded into green (much nicer than the mud color that usually happens when you mix the colors).  They enjoyed the feel of the green mixture and played with that for awhile.  It kind of reminded me of cornstarch clay.  

Clean up was easy, I just dumped it into the sink to help freshen up the drains.

There were some other challenges that did not involve the kids this week, and as I was standing up for myself at one point I realized that I have a lot of built-up frustration over the past couple of months.  All I can do is try to do my best and speak my mind when I need to and try to keep my mouth shut when that is the best option.  I saw a quote on Facebook recently that said, "Follow your intuition. Be smart, be brave, tell the truth, and don't take any shit."  It is my new motto, but I sure would appreciate some of your prayers going into this week.

Speaking of quotes, my friend Leon from high school wrote this to me last fall on Facebook, "You find beauty and joy in the world and you look for the best in people.  Unhappy people, insecure people and those with personality defects will try to take that from you.  Misery loves company."  I'm just throwing that out there because it was another quote from Facebook and I was reminded of it.  I found it very helpful, because I was wondering what I do to make others try and attack me.  I guess that it boils down to just being myself, lol.  

I really enjoy the people that I work with, and they are all nice, but we are a new group and I need to remember to set boundaries when I must, as well as to not overstep.  I have a very strong personality and this whole thing of going back to work for others has not been easy for me.

Speaking of Leon, here is a new video of his and his wife Kimberly's band Taylor's Crossing, backing country singer Gretchen Owens.  Leon is on lead guitar and Kimberly is on the banjo.
 

I promised you guys some pictures of our yard, which Cary has been working so hard on.  It is looking very pretty!  I'll fix up the front patio with flowers as soon as I know that it is not going to get too cold.  I usually wait until Father's Day weekend.   

These blooms look and smell so good.  But, I guess that they lose their delicious smell after you put them in a vase and take them to school.  Everybody kept coming in and saying, it smells like cat pee in here, so I threw them away.  I seem to have lost my keen sense of smell, which is probably for the best now that I have to change stinky diapers again.

I got off work early on Friday, at 9:30 in the morning because there were not very many kids.  I came home, cleaned house, went to Bi-Mart for cleaning supplies and to the store for food.  Mom is in town finishing up the cabin, so I stopped by to visit with her.  It looks like one of my new co-workers will be moving into our little cabin shortly.

Yesterday, I cleaned and organized for more than 8 hours, but I still need to finish up today.  Not one room really looks very clean yet, and I have folded laundry all over the dining room table but I have to organize our closet before I put it away.  That is one of my least favorite chores.

Cary and I have plans to take our Moms out to lunch this afternoon, and I will take some pictures of all of that.

I hope that you all have a wonderful Sunday and a great upcoming week!  Thanks so much for stopping by to say hello.

Hugs,

Kathy M. 

At Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy, if you miss a day, you miss a lot!  All material on this post is copyrighted and not for use without my permission ...Please click here to go to my home page and see what is happening in Mayberry today.