I'll start with last week...
Monday- We spent Monday catching up after the weekend rush. Doing things like laundry, cleaning, more yard work etc. Nothing exciting. :)
Tuesday- Abi went to the dentist in the morning to get some things worked on. While Mom and she were up in Atlantic they stopped in at Sweet Joy's For chai lattes and scones for the rest of us at home. While they were gone, I did school with Sam. Around 12:30, Mom, Abi and I took off for a cleaning job. Aunt Carol always does this one with Mom and I, but she had to take a widow to a doctor's appointment, so Abi filled in. After that job, the 3 of us go straight over to another one. It generally takes us about 3 1/2-4 hours to clean both houses. That means that we each make $53 in that time. :) I honestly can't remember what we did that afternoon.
Wednesday- We were up bright and early to clean another house. All four of us take care of this one- it's over 4,000 sqf! It only takes us about 2 hrs though! :) We make good money on this one! :) Mom and Aunt Carol clean a widow lady's house Wed. afternoons. Often, Aunt Carol will take her grocery shopping while Mom cleans. I spent the afternoon cleaning house and the basement, while Abi worked outside. There was church that night so we dutifully (actually willingly) went to church. :)
Thursday- Well, we had a lot of cleaning cancellations! We always clean a house Thursday mornings. We do one house one week and the other the next. But, Robyn texted us and told us not to come clean as her house was a wreck. Hey, that's what we clean- wrecked houses! :) Oh, well, of course we didn't argue. Instead, we went with Gram and Mom to Sweet Joy's for breakfast. Gram had a doctor's appointment, so while Mom and she were there, Abi and I browsed the Salvation Army and found some good bargains! After we got home, Abi started in on potato planting, while Mom and I got ready to go clean Gram's house. I had really wanted to help Abi plant, but Gram needed us... When we got home, Abi was just finishing the potatoes. I got to help her plant green beans, though. We've been helping a young mom from the area one day a week for the past several weeks. She also canceled. Yeah! Day off!
Friday- We worked on laundry Friday morning. Mom had to go somewhere, so I taught Sam school again. We did't quite get all the laundry done before we left to clean Zooks' at 12:30. It usually takes us till 4:30 or so to clean their house, then we head right over to clean a granary office. It takes under an hour to clean there ($25 an hour!!), thankfully. By the time we get done there, both of us are shot. Everyone had already eaten when we got home so we had to scrounge around for something. "... supper's over and the dishes warshed, nothin' left but a piece of squarsh..." In the immortal words of "Old Dan Tucker." :)
Saturday- Abi and I stayed home from Bible study that morning. Abi needed to make caramel popcorn for the bridal shower that we'd be attending later that day. I stayed back to help her, but ended up sleeping in accidentally. Oops... I did wash the mountain of dishes that had piled up. :) Once everyone got back from BS, we girls took off to pick Aunt Carol and her girls up for the bridal shower. It was for my second cousin, Mikayla and her fiance, Chris. They live in SC and since most of us won't be able to attend the wedding, Mom and Aunt Holly decided to have a shower, without Mikayla. We took pictures for her, brought gifts celebrated and even played a game! It was fun! :) We will send the box of gifts to her later. It was very unusual, but fun! Afterwards, we had a fun girls' day of thrift store shopping, then a "lupper" at Godfather's Pizza.Yummy! We were pretty tired by the time we got home. So tired, in fact, that I took a nap from 6-7:30. :) Then, when I went to bed at quarter to 12, I slept all night! :)
So ended a busy week. Every week is the same, pretty much, as far as cleaning jobs go, but crazy everywhere else!
You should be caught up to date now...
Here are some pictures from the past couple weeks...
Abi likes making bread on rainy days.
KK was burning tree stumps.
Someone was playing around with a clear marble...
On the 11th, we all met at Uncle Mike and Aunt Holly's house to celebrate our 1 year Ireland anniversary.
Almost authentic Irish beef stew
Our spring flowers have been gorgeous!
Magnolia tree
We are only having a small garden this year.
This is one fat cow!
Rhubarb
The boys designed their own basketball hoop. They really did a good job!
Aunt Shelley lent Abi several English cookbooks so she's been having fun trying out the different recipes.
Bakewell Tart
Real scones
We got to have Katelyn for the day a couple weeks ago. I gave her some yogurt and put her in her chair. She was really hamming it up for Abi and I! We were laughing so hard!
Abi was snapping pictures while I wound her up. :)
Look at those toes!
I love this picture!
She looked like a clown with all that yogurt around her mouth!
"More please. Please More."
Oh, no! It's all gone!
This was later when they picked her up.
I was picking a picture to put on the blog when I ran across these. Somebody took pictures of my irises, not just one mind you, but like ten!
KK was writing Opal's name in the dirt on the deck. :)
The boys have been staying occupied melting aluminum and making molds.
It's pretty dangerous, so I don't think I'll share how they do it. :)
KK made a pistol. It worked for the most part!
Our kitchen table has become a work bench. :)
Dad was making lunch last Sunday morning. We thought he should have an apron to protect his white shirt.
Stop!
Abi made pizza pinwheels for the guys for lunch one day last week.
Like I mentioned above, I cleaned the basement last Wednesday. Because of the fine dust that gathers down there I needed a mask. I couldn't find a real one, so I made do with a strip of cloth tied around my head. It helped some, but I still struggled with allergies later.
Our basement is creepy!
Sam came down to visit me... and started taking pictures of himself.
He told me this thumbs up was for me. :)
Opie and Watson were both watching rabbits and mice from fence posts.
A face only a mother could love...
Our yard is looking really nice!
We borrowed Edward's tractor last week to till our garden.
Potatoes and onions
Dad rented a skid steer again so we finally got "the pit" buried. The boys got it nicely raked and seeded.
Mom decided hat we should use marigolds as row markers in the garden this year. Sticks always seem to get lost.
Potatoes!
Watson derives comfort from whatever he can get...
...Even paper bags! Nobody put him in here, he crawled in all by hisself! :)
Mom, planting onions
Me, planting green beans
All finished!
KK was getting the ground ready to seed.
Abi made pancakes, bacon eggs and hash browns for supper. Yum!
We like to put every kind of chocolate chips in our pancakes- white, peanut butter, butterscotch, chocolate, heath, etc.
Self explanatory...
This was at Mikaya's bridal shower.
Mom made these cute gifts for everyone to take home.
Aunt Holly had a nice snack spread.
And of course punch and cupcakes!
Coffee and tea
We all brought recipes along for a recipe book for Mikayla.
Passing out the game...
We all addressed thank you notes for her...
Little Liya
