A great and busy Saturday

Have you ever known a "do-er"?

You know the type...

Type A (with a capital A!)

That person who fidgets unmercifully if they aren't "doing something" productive?

That person who has the hardest darn time "relaxing"?

Yeah, me either!

(I may have just caused my husband to choke with those words.)

Much to his dismay sometimes, HE is married to such a gal!

Yep, hard as it might be to believe about me, I am a "doer"!

So, unlike most of the human race, I wake up on a Saturday morning and can't wait to "get to work". I thoroughly enjoy "home projects" and "running errands" and all that comes with my "free time" (read: time out of the office).

Today was one of those "busy days" where I didn't even leave the house.  But, it was a great day!  Allow me to elaborate.

My awesome friend, Kim, shared the yummiest looking recipe yesterday.

A recipe I just happened to have all the ingredients for...

Blueberry Banana Oatmeal Bake w/
Greek yogurt and blueberries as garnish.

A recipe that was super healthy...

So, I decided to start the morning out by baking this incredible breakfast up for my crew.

After all, it just isn't summer without blueberries!

After breakfast is "chore time" in casa Rylands.

So, off the boys went to tackle their regular Saturday morning chores.

Upon taking a break from my own "to-do" list, to go check on the boys, I find Connor upstairs alone STUDYING his scripture memory verses for an upcoming Karate test.

UNPROMPTED Y'ALL!

(score!)

Then, my same good buddy Kim, stops by to give me a few pointers on slimming and trimming my arms. Can you see Tom standing guard making sure I'm doing everything "right"? 

After a short 15 minute workout, I'm back at it.

Now, the day starts to get really exciting!

You know, ladies, that time when your husband grabs the screwdriver and hammer and sets out to hang those blinds that you've wanted hung since....

well yeah, you get the idea!

Woot!  Not only did the towel rack get hung in the boys' bathroom, 

but the new blinds in Connor and Cameron's room too! 

(It's sometimes the "little things" that get me all excited!)

Some of you may remember when I first made this towel rack and wrote about that here.

While "Bob the Builder" is hard at work, I gather the boys to do some work on scripture memory. This is a very easy task for our youngest (the only natural born english speaking child in the house), but it is really hard for the other 4, so it takes a concentrated effort.

Let's face it, ENGLISH IS HARD. 

Don't believe me?  Ask anyone who you've taught phonics to, who wasn't born here, who now has to "unlearn" all the "rules" they were taught, because now they are encountering all the "rule breakers" in the English language. 

Man, there are a lot of those!

So, we drilled all 6 verses for about an hour, but they were making great progress.

After that, it was time for reading. Yes, reading. A constant battle with older adopted kids. But a necessary evil all the same. 

So, we instituted Momma's reading boot camp for the summer. (You know you're jealous!)

Each morning before I head out to work, we have a reading lesson. Then, each child is responsible to read for 30 minutes in English so they can refine the assignments.

This afternoon, several of them we anxious to read their current chapters to me. 

So, while they took turns on the computer (30 minutes each in our house), others took turns reading to Mom.

Each child struggles with something a little different but they are all making progress which is all we need to see. Forward momentum!

We use the Hooked on Phonics curriculum that we purchased for Tommy many years ago. It is great. 

When the boys successfully complete a level (color coded), they earn a date night with Mom or Dad!  Cameron earned one today by finishing this book:

So, being that it is Father's Day weekend, he chose Dad to accompany him on his date night!

They are off at the movies now and then headed out for Ice Cream after.

So, since Tom was off with Cam tonight, I decided to dust off my apron and do some baking!

Chocolate swirl

Strawberry Cream

I love baking muffins for the boys. I prepare the batter and then drop it into the muffin papers. I freeze them (yes, unbaked) and let them harden up for about 30 minutes. Then, I place them into the freezer bags.

Bottom: Blueberry Banana Oat Muffins

That way, I can have fresh baked muffins anytime we want.

These Strawberry Cream muffins were awesome!  Colin loved them.

All in all, a very productive, enjoyable day.

That's MY kind of weekend relaxation!