just some pics of life around here lately.

Thought I'd pop in for a minute to post some photos from life around here this month.  Enjoy! :)

Last week, we got tickets to the symphony for the whole fam for free through Matt's work.  We picked David up straight from work and headed to Phoenix.  It was great. :)

Here's me at Symphony Hall, with one of my new outfits from our Goodwill run on our anniversary.  (I was pretending to be perusing the symphony program.)

Some Monday morning craziness a few weeks back.

On Mother's Day, with David & his friend Everett. (the dress I'm wearing here is from that anniversary day Goodwill visit, paired with a tank top I already had.)

David treated us to Mother's Day lunch at Subway.  :)

Marissa decorated this mug for me for Mother's Day.

Mother's Day roses from Matt :)

Sweet words from Naomi. :)

Jesse did this watercolor for me on Mother's Day.

Been doing a bit more canning... these are tomatoes, and I also did 6 1/2 pints of strawberry jam this week.

Been doing some cleaning/organizing projects this week.  All of us.  And here's the boys' room on Monday night, after they sorted/organized/cleaned.  Ahhh... :)

The girls' room on Monday evening, after they cleaned up.  Their room wasn't as bad to start with, but it still needed a perking up.

Jesse was my tortilla-making helper for lunch the other day.  He was a quick learner!

Our roses are still holding out, despite the 100+ degree temps we've been having lately. :)

Did this painting, hoping to sell it in my etsy shop.  No nibbles yet...

Dinner the other night.  Pepper & garlic tofu with veggies.

Making tortillas on Sunday.  Did you know that authentic Mexican tortillas don't have a leavening agent in them?  This was my first attempt at making them like that, and it was really, really tasty. :)  Flour (3 c.), warm water (1 c. or so), and salt (1/2 tsp.).  (Of course, for all of us, we need at least a double batch.)  That's it.  :)

If anybody out there is interested, I found this lady online who is amazingly encouraging about helping people get more organized, getting their life to feel less chaotic due to clutter in their homes.  She is *so* cheerful about it.  You can sign up to get her emails, and they are really helpful.  I'm not fully doing everything, but just reading the emails has helped encourage me in our home organizing/de-cluttering efforts lately.

She calls herself the FLY Lady (FLY=Finally Loving Yourself, as in realizing you're worth loving, and how your own perfectionism can get in the way of getting your life less chaotic.)  Here's the link.  And here are her "Baby Steps", one per day, just to get you started.  She's always saying that you're not behind.  You just need to start where you are. :)

Well, that's it for now.  I've got things to do.  Finishing up the school year with the youngest three kiddos.  Starting to work my way through the mending pile.  Supervising the kids' cleaning jobs for the morning.  Oh, and my laundry is ready to change loads now, too.

See you later!