October 2026

Homeschooling is one of the joys of our home. It really gives us the family time and connection that we all want, along with amazing adventures, fun days, and so much rich learning. But homeschooling also comes with hard days. Sometimes it feels like I'm not allowed to complain about homeschooling because we chose it and there are so many privileges that come with it; but, because of the nature of homeschooling it sometimes brings difficulties.

For instance, our house (probably more so than most people) is a work horse! We spend a lot of time at home, which brings more laundry, more dishes, more messes, more toys played with, and more wear and tear. And while that's our choice, it does make homemaking doubly tiring.

We have a great schedule of chores and rhythms for picking up, but it still feels like there is just not enough time in the day to get to all the cleaning and to live in a constantly sparkly house. And because we are home the mess is more noticeable.

And when our schedule is full to the brim, the messes are even more stressful. So I feel like I'm constantly playing catch up. There's the laundry, the dishes, the vacuuming, the gardening, the cooking, the bathing, the grocery shopping, the planning, the teaching, the baking, the errands, the canning, the buying, the dusting, the mopping, and so on and so on. Not to mention I want to be a good wife, a good friend, a good mom, read a little in my free time, and maybe wash my hair.

So, while I absolutely adore our life... lately it has felt overwhelming.

So what is making life so busy? Let's begin!

For co-op we started our October with a trip to the pumpkin patch where they also grow strawberries for an extended season. So we fed some goats, learned about the farm, and filled our freezer with strawberries!

The following day, we headed to a different farm. Our friends who work on their family farm have been trying to get us out in the fields during harvest for 3 years now and this was the year it finally worked out. The kids had a blast riding the combine and tractor while learning all about the process of harvesting corn. Per usual, I think I learned more than the kids actually did!

Then we had a day to get the house in order before it was party time at our house for our girls. Both girls have an October birthday and we always try to celebrate with all our family. My parents came down and stayed with us for the first time since selling their Bloomington house. And it was just sweet for everyone to be together and celebrate our girlies.

The girls requested donuts and milkshakes instead of cake. So we went with a breakfast theme :)

They were showered in presents. What loved little girls they are :)

We tried to find a date that worked to get Isla and her best bud, Huxley together for their October birthdays. We found a couple hour time slot on the Sunday after the party to squeeze in some golf, bowling, and pizza!

Then the first of the October birthdays arrived! Eleanor turned the big FOUR. She loved opening her gifts... this was definitely the year of Disney princesses for her. She loves all the pink, sparkly, princess things out there! Her favorite gift was her princess castle/carriage and her "lick-gloss" from Crowder.

Eleanor Grace is our spunky, silly, off-the-wall girly. She loves pink, sparkles, princesses, and anything girly-girl. She loves books and even takes interest in beginning reading skills. She has jokes and silly phrases that get us all giggling all the time. She's really musically inclined and is always singing or playing some kind of instrument. She loves snacks, books, dress up, and SINGING. We love our Gracie! This year she held four apples for four years :)

After her gifts, the big kids had zoo class, so Michael and I got to have Eleanor all by herself for a birthday breakfast at Cracker Barrel!

After we got the big kids back, Eleanor requested we go to the park. So off we went!

We sure do love our Gracie Goo!

Our next co-op was at the library where we met with a local author who shared with us her book about children with disabilities and medical differences and then she also shared the book writing process. It was so fun to learn about what it takes to write a children's book and actually see the publishing process. Afterwards, all the kids got blank books to write their own stories in that we will present to each other this winter. So of course, I wrote an entire curriculum about story-writing to go along with this.

Every October, we try to meet at an orchard with Sarah's family; but, this year we got rained out so we headed to Bourbonnais to play at Easton and Elouise's new favorite indoor playground.

Then it was time for our next October birthday! Isla Rose turned EIGHT this year. Somehow, some way my first baby got so big, so fast.

One of my favorite things about Isla is her excitement and love of literally everything. I think almost every day she says, "this is the best day ever!"... which I'm not sure if that means she's full of joy or that her life is spoiled with experiences. But every present she opened was just as exciting as the last one.

Then it was classic donuts for breakfast :)

Even though she's 8, she still loves toys... especially animals. And I will feed that love until she truly is done.

But she also got big girl stuff like a potter's wheel. She has wanted to learn to throw for a long time now.

She requested to go to the pet store (again) this year just to look at the pets for sale.

Culvers for lunch, of course.

And then, we went to the weirdest place I've ever been (and Isla's absolute dream)... a cat cafe. You could order coffee and then pet the FORTY TWO cats roaming the cafe. I am not a cat person, but my daughter is and she LOVED it. The bonus is every cat was adoptable, unfortunately her daddy is really allergic to cats. He even made us all strip down in the garage when we got home so we didn't bring any cat hair in.

Isla is one of the coolest kids I know. She's so confident in what she likes and who she is. She loves animals like they are human. She loves good, strong, rich stories. She is creative, but logical; spunky, but sweet; and giggly, but serious. And above all, she has the biggest heart. She loves her family deeply, she's loyal to her friends, and she cares for even the tiniest creature. We are all better for knowing Isla Rose. Here's her 8 pumpkins for year 8!

After a big day of birthday celebrations, we headed out to the campgrounds for our annual Halloween campout with our friends. We just couldn't miss that!

It's so fun to dress up and trick-or-treat the campground. This year the weather was beautiful, just slightly chilly. By night time though the temps were supposed to drop to the 20s, so once again we didn't actually stay the night. We just stayed really, really late.

I have the best mama friends. These women mean the world to me.

This year we have been heavily involved in Trail Life and American Heritage Girls. Ewan and Michael have been enjoying all the fun the boys have been doing and Isla and I have been planning the girl's nights. Recently, we had a stargazing and cider night with the girls.

We also spent a weekend at the AHG campout. Our sweet friends let our troop use their property, which was so nice. We spent time playing games, roasting our dinner over the fire, working on their fire safety badge, and spending the night under the stars. After sleeping in 48 degree weather, Isla and I ended up with sinus infections and coughs and about an hour of sleep, but it was a fun time had by all! I'm really grateful for new little girlfriends in Isla's life.

We did our best to sprinkle in the fun parts of fall and Halloween, including carving pumpkins! The kids designed their pumpkins and did a lot of their own carving. Roasting the seeds and eating them by the fire is always fun too!

Our Halloween party with our co-op friends was out of this world this year. The mom who planned it went above and beyond! All of the kids were sent a secret puzzle piece they had to decode and bring to the party where the kids played a real life game of Clue to solve the Halloween mystery. Moms were characters in the game (I was Madame Moonbeam, as seen below) and the little detectives got to work playing games, solving riddles, and using their detective skills to find the culprit! I love our co-op and the super cool experiences our children get to have!

Eleanor and Nana attended the last zoo class for the year where they saw all sorts of creepy crawlies. On the same day, the big kids and I found a dead turtle in our yard. So weird!

And then we reached the end of October, which means HALLOWEEN! This year one thing lead to another and soon a group of our friends that live in the country needed a place to trick or treat and a little party was formed. It was such a fun night!