Homegrown Florida Citrus

Who’s surprised to know that my tiny Tot woke up at like, 6:10am? No one? That’s what I thought. This Mama was exhausted from the get-go. But she sweetly sat in my lap, and ate a pack of gummies while we watched Octonauts for a while.

we woke up Daddy around 7:30, and all ate Cinnamon Toast Crunch together. Jeff doesn’t drink the milk from his cereal, and that’s Emmie’s favorite part, and she loves to drink his leftover milk from the bowl with a straw.

After hanging out a little at home, and dealing with a bit of laundry, we got dressed to head out for the day. Emmie was very excited about bring Snoopy & Charlie Brown on our errands with us!

We went to Badcock, Turner’s Budget & Ashley Furniture today. We found a few things we liked, and one we really liked more than all the others. We didn’t actually pull the trigger today though, but we might go back tomorrow, since their sale only lasts through Monday.

Between the 2nd & 3rd store, Little Bit was getting hangry & tired, so we stopped in for the lunch buffet at KFC, and this girl tore up a drumstick and two helpings of mac & cheese.

After lunch, she was feeling good enough for us to attempt the 3rd store, but halfway through she was exhausted and needed Daddy to carry her around for a while. We got the man’s card, took some photos, and got outta there lickety-split, so we could put her down for a later-than-normal nap.

This is the one we’re thinking about getting, from Ashley Furniture. I’m not a fan of the print or black color on the throw pillows, but they come with it for free, so I could just find & order some covers for them.

Emmie went down for her nap super easy this afternoon, because she was exhausted. I almost put myself to sleep while I was rocking her, and as much as I wanted to take a nap myself, I decided to be a responsible grown-up, and work on taking down our Christmas decorations instead. I made myself an iced coffee, put in my headphones to listen to my audio book, and got to work! Jeff opened up all the windows & our sliding glass door, so it felt really great while I worked.

Before…..

During…..

After!!!

I wrote this first half of the blog while Emerson slept & Jeff folded clean clothes. Once she woke up, she helped vacuum the living room, after she watched me vacuum the dining room.

And then we went outside to start harvesting our oranges! We believe we had over 200 oranges last year, and I’m pretty sure we had close to 350 this year! We always give oranges to our family, friends and neighbors. We also each take huge baskets to put out at our offices, and we usually take a box to give out at church. And we still have a hard time getting rid of them all! So let me know if you want some, and we’ll hook you up!

I picked them off the tree, and handed them to her to put in all of our baskets. She is very polite lately, so every time I handed her one, she said, “Thank you, Mommy!” Ugh, she’s just so sweet!

She took her job of organizing and gathering very seriously.

After a while, I had to grab the stool to start picking the taller ones. And then as I was up on the top of the little ladder, she tried to sit down on it. I told her she had to at least let me get down first. Then she sat down and and “I tired, I need a rest.”

The tree has grown super tall this year, so even with Jeff up on the step-ladder, there were still tons we couldn’t reach. So he grabbed the rake and just started shaking the fool out of the tree, until they all came raining down! Honestly, we might start that way next year, because it’s so much easier! It’s also much easier on your hands that way. (Picking them off individually actually hurts, and my hands are super sore tonight!)

Just look at this bountiful harvest of homegrown Florida citrus!!!

We loaded up a small basket to take to our neighbors, but Jeff wanted to roll the whole wagon over, just to show off our spoils 🙂

And Emmie got to love on their dog, Momo, who is super sweet and very energetic. We stayed and chatted with them for a while, and Emmie asked for an apple which she saw sitting on the table. She took a bite or two out of it, but didn’t like the peel. But Mr. Buddy was super nice and peeled & sliced it for her, and she ate the whole thing while we visited with them.

I was in no mood to cook after all the chores & errands we did today, and it was getting too late for that anyways, so we headed out to Taco Bell to grab some “Mexican” food for dinner. It took a while to get our food, and there were tons of FSU students in there (wow, some weird ones too), but the food was good and I didn’t have to cook 😉

When we got home, we immediately got Emerson ready for bed, and did our bedtime routine. We read the Berenstain bear book again, plus two of her Bible stories. We did all the prayers and hugs and kisses with Daddy, and then I did lullabies before laying her down.

After a super busy, exhausting, productive day, I’m so glad there’s no dishes to wash, and I can just get comfy and watch “The Mandalorian” with the hubby!