kids' desk area

My dear friend Barbie texted me a picture of an old double desk...and she offered to give it to Twain and Ollie!

I just had a sneaking suspicion that it would look perfect under this {once}empty window.

Picture above from instagram--I'm davirebecca, if you care to be insta friends:)

John picked up the desk from Barbie's house and the next day I was very motivated to find lil chairs. I dragged Ollie and Twain to 3 different antique stores til I found any kid chairs. 

As soon as loaded them into my car, I noticed rust. Ug. Hate that. 

So the next few days were spend scrubbing off any surface rust. It was a most arduous task and finally John took over. Thankgoodness. Little boys were going absolutely mad with anticipation waiting for their little chairs. 

John wanted to spray paint the metal parts of the chair. And I came thisclose to complying. But I liked the natural worn patina, so he ended up just spraying them with a clear satin finish. 

He also put on new metal feet. Aren't they pretty and shiny?

Then the fun part! Accessorizing! A while ago, Loriloo got the Oliver Twist and Mark Twain books as gifts for my Oilver and Twain.  These books have been patiently sitting on the boys' bookshelf,  just waiting for their grand debut. 

And I was SUPER stoked to finally have a home for these metal bookends. 

(Side story. I bought these metal book ends YEARS ago...then sold them back to the antique dealer for PENNIES I TELL YOU...only to buy them back from him AGAIN a year or 2 later, sheesh.)

And not sure if this banner will remain, but it makes the place chipper for now!

And darlings Megan and Barbie got me these awesome metal file cabinets to store Ollie's curriculum. I'm now obsessed with curriculum--because when you have lousy material it makes you want to gouge your eyes out. 

I originally set out to homeschool just Ollie.

>Partly because our kindergarten shifted to all-day, rather than half-day.

 I was fairly certain that both Ollie and his teacher would both go crazy from each other by the end of the day. 

>Partly because I suspected Ollie would need a lil extra help. Which he does. Especially with handwriting.

I did not anticipate teaching Twain(age 4). But he insists upon it. 

It's been fun teaching them, so I have been pleasantly surprised.

Ollie and Twain cannot believe their good fortune that mommy now sits and reads to them and does activities with them all morning rather than cleaning the house. 

My house. My poooooor house. It's a mess. Stress! I crave order!

It's been a tough adjustment for me because I'm used to cleaning, doing chores and running errands all morning. I'm still trying to figure it all out.

God is patiently teaching me what I NEED to do vs. what I need to let go of...
And it's been tough for me to let go. I didn't realize I had such a deathgrip on my schedule and "to-do" list. Since I have less time for my "stuff", I'm S-L-O-W-L-Y learning to be more disciplined and to prioritize. I still mess up and waste time and have a long way to go. 

I rewarded myself with sushi for lunch on surviving the first week. I scarfed the other 6 sushi rolls before snapping this picture. I think it should be a weekly ritual.