Andrea Dekker

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My Week In Review (July 2-8)

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It’s a holiday week — Happy 4th of July to everyone in the USA! 

Here’s a look back at what I blogged about and what we did as a family during this holiday week in previous years… and as always, you can follow along with all my Week In Review posts here.

2010:

Apparently, I was very into recipes this week — here are 4 yummy recipes I still make during the holidays!

Patriotic Brownie Kabobs (kids love these!)

Patriotic Jello Dessert

Triple Chocolate Bundt Cake (this is still our family’s most favorite cake 7 years later!)

Homemade yogurt in the slow cooker (OK, so I don’t actually make this much anymore  — my kids don’t like it — but it’s still a super easy way to make homemade yogurt!)

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2011:

I shared a huge round-up of patriotic posts from around the web — all sorts of decorating ideas, recipes, cute things for kids, etc.

I also shared another Craigslist 101 post about everything you need to get started selling on Craigslist (hint, it’s not all that much!!)

And finally, I shared a laundry list of yummy no-bake meals — perfect for hot summer weather! I already added the Vegetable Primavera to our menu plan for this week!

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2012:

Nora @ 7 months old

This was our first 4th of July with a baby — we didn’t necessarily do anything special, but it was fun to dress her up 🙂

I shared this simple tip to check if your baking soda and baking powder are fresh.

I also shared how I made our own homemade “TV dinners” with leftovers from bigger meals. I don’t do this anymore since we eat a lot more food now than we did back then… but this idea worked so well when it was just Dave and I eating!

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2013:

Dave and I have always joked that 3 of the reasons we purchased our home were “location, location, location” — our house might not have been very nice on the inside, but the location was just perfect for what we wanted and needed in a home!

One of my more popular posts is this post about My Don’t Do List. If you’ve never tried making a don’t do list for yourself, I would highly recommend it. In my opinion, it’s a lot easier to make time for what’s important to me if I have a don’t do list of things I don’t make time for.

And finally, I shared why I have always been a Paper List sort of person. I’ve always had a paper planner (all the way back to elementary school) and as much as I try to go digital, I always resort back to my beloved paper planners. (Here’s the planner I’ve been using for the past several years).

This is a picture of me (around age 3) making lists — just like Simon and Nora do now!

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2014:

Simon celebrated 4 months on July 4 — and I got so many super cute pictures of him!

We also started a new deck project using Trex decking. We LOVE our larger deck (and the fact that it’s super low-maintenance!)

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2015:

I wrote a thought-provoking post I think many of you will appreciate — it’s all about different energy levels and how one person might be able to accomplish so much more in a given day, simply because they have more energy (but not necessarily more time) than another person.

I didn’t do any patriotic posts this year — but I did share a bunch of my favorite make-ahead-and-freeze meals (many of which I continue to make on a very regular basis).

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2016:

all the kids enjoyed getting dressed up for the parade last year 🙂

I shared a super fun post with pictures of ALLLLLL the red, white, and blue in our farmhouse — we have A LOT! I’m sure I’ve added more over the last year too!

I also wrote 3 posts about how I simplify and streamline various areas of my life:

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2017:

We have no definite plans for the holiday this year — we are tentatively planning to hit up a local parade this morning (as long as the weather cooperates) and then we’ll most likely enjoy spending time at home 🙂

We had our carpets cleaned last week — which means we are “finished” with construction!

I’ll be sharing Nora’s bedroom makeover next week —  I’m SO thrilled with how everything came together and sort of looks like it matches (thanks to some pink fabric dye and pink spray paint!)

Here are some pictures from the past few days…

Enjoying pizza and ice cream for dinner after a fun afternoon of swimming. 

Shopping for a little more paint at Home Depot

The very first night we put up Nora’s new loft bed — all 3 kids wanted to sleep up there! 

Dying our dingy white onesies pink with leftover dye from a project in Nora’s room. 

Enjoying juice pops from a cool new popsicle mold

Simon and Nora have been sharing Nora’s Barbie skates for the past few weeks — then, last week I found Simon his own pair of Spider Man skates for $0.50 at our local thrift store!  

Jumping James — anytime we can’t find him, we check the tramp, he’s almost always there! 

29 weeks — and CONSTANTLY getting asked “how much longer?” The people usually have to pick their jaws up off the ground when I tell them it’s over 10 weeks yet. Yes, I’m big! 

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Comments

  1. Mandy says

    You look great! Just wondering (since you are ready so productive) do you feel the urge to “nest” when you’re pregnant? If so, what do you do? I’ve always want to organize the ENTIRE house.

    Reply

    • Andrea says

      haha — thanks! I think my whole life has been some form of “nesting” 🙂 I’m always purging something, rearranging something, consolidating something, cleaning something, etc. etc.

      I do think I purge MORE towards the end of all my pregnancies — mainly because we’re usually trying to finish up a couple house projects before the baby arrives. When the house projects are finished and it’s time to put everything back in it’s place, I often have a VERY strong desire to purge anything we don’t absolutely love.

      Funny you should ask this question right now too — I’ve literally made 3 trips to our local thrift store in the past 10 days and I’m going again tomorrow (with my trunk fairly full each time!) Now that we’re finished with Nora’s bedroom and have James moved upstairs, I’ve been going through all the closets and bedrooms, purging anything we no longer need. Plus, I could get rid of ALL of James’ outgrown things as we know we’re having a girl.
      So yes, I do still think I “nest” at the end of my pregnancies — but yes, I also purge regularly all year long!

      Reply

  2. Hannah Beth Reid says

    Babies in Bumbo seats make such cute pictures! We just put our baby in ours for the first time this weekend and he likes it.
    Good idea to dye the white onesies for your up coming girl since you had some pink dye!
    I’m looking forward to seeing the bedroom you’ve been working on recently!

    Reply

  3. Tara says

    I remember all these posts! Fun to see them again. Love the pic of James on the trampoline. I can’t believe how big he is! I keep thinking of him as a baby despite seeing his pics in every single post. . I also think I need to know more about that cool new popsicle mold Nora is rocking. Can’t wait to see her new room too. You look amazing as always. I am selfishly so enjoying you not taking the summer off. I always miss you despite being happy for you when you take time off in the summer. I know you’re saving your time for the new baby girl’s arrival. Squeee! So excited for you. What a great summer!

    Reply

    • Andrea says

      yay — so happy you remember them all these posts! What a loyal reader you are!

      And honestly, it’s been SO fun for me to go back through all these old posts and re-read them and re-share them on the blog in a fresh new way. I’ll definitely be looking forward to a little extra time off after our baby girl’s arrival, but for now, I’m enjoying sticking to my 5-posts a week schedule!

      Thanks so much for your encouragement!

      Reply

  6. Alicia says

    Seriously, you are not big!!! Oh my gosh! I’m about twice the size of you and I’m only 27 weeks!! But when people find out I still have so much longer to go, I get all the shocked comments/looks too. 🙂

    Reply

  7. JoDi says

    Maybe big, but it’s all belly. You look great! You’re not planning to surprise us with twins are you?

    Reply

  8. lyss says

    Interesting thoughts about energy levels. It’s hard for me to believe you actually functioned fine with only 5 hours (or less) of sleep! I’m one of those that need 8 or 9 to function. Seriously, having babies was SO hard because of lack of sleep. I really want more kids, but that part of it seriously scares me. I was actually surprised you kept having kids after Nora, but I guess since you could function, you didn’t go totally crazy like me. Lack of sleep turns me in to a person I don’t even like. : ( Recent bloodwork showed impaired liver function, among other things. So maybe if we figure my health issues out, maybe I’ll have a little more energy? One can hope! : )
    Happy 4th!

    Reply

  10. Nana says

    Happy 4th! Love reading through older posts.

    (Just an FYI the link to “Why you are a paper list type of person” does seem to be working.)

    Enjoy your holiday!

    Reply

  11. shan says

    Andrea, I had fun reading your “Location! Location! Location” blog. Love how Dave just wanted to “live near stuff” and you deconstructed what he meant by “stuff”! 🙂 Happy Independence Day! Happy Birthday, America!

    Reply

    • Andrea says

      haha –yes, Dave just wanted to be close to everything, I had all the bedroom, bathroom, front porch requests 🙂 Thankfully, we found a house that fit both our needs and wants!

      Reply

  15. Karen says

    You look beautiful! I loved seeing all the pictures of your family. Have a great 4th of July

    Reply

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