{ Blogtober 2026 - Day 5 - Happy Homemaker Monday 10/05/2026 }

Good morning dear friends, welcome back to Diary of a Stay at Home Mom. ♥

 

I hope you've had a wonderful weekend.  Ours was very quiet, very much relaxing and filled with laying about, watching tv, reading, naps and downtime.  I looked at Curt yesterday and said "You know we just had the weekend that we used to love back in the day, quiet, nowhere to go and nothing to do."

 

It was very much needed, and kind of forced upon us too because Curt came down with a horrible cold on Saturday morning, and actually stayed home from work today because he does not sound good at all.  Must be the change in the weather. 

 

So, it is going to be another quiet slow day here at home, and I am all for it.

 

I hope you have a blessed week.  Let's get right on with our post for today.

 

Sandra

xoxoxo 

♥♥ The Weather ♥♥
It has been wonderful, we had a weekend full of rain, cool temperatures and pure bliss.  I loved it, of course because I'm a huge rain lover.  We have a sunny week ahead, temperatures in the lower 80s, so should be a nice week.  

 

Monday - Sunny, 83
Tuesday - Sunny, 84
Wednesday - Sunny, 86
Thursday - Cloudy, 85
Friday - Cloudy, 85
Saturday - Sunny, 85
Sunday - Sunny, 86


♥♥ As I look outside my window ♥♥
The sun is just starting to come up.  It's getting brighter later in the day and sun is going down earlier at night too.  Sure signs of Fall.  Right now I can just start to see the trees against the mornings sky.   

♥♥ Right now I am ♥♥
I am at my desk.  In the background is a crime documentary, Elliott is asleep on my bed, Kaia is with Curt in the office.    

 

♥♥ Thinking and pondering ♥♥
Have to work on my new meal plan, and want to look up some recipes to get back to healthy eating.   

 

♥♥ How am I feeling ♥♥
I am doing well, not feeling 100% which makes sense since Curt is sick and it will obviously head my way next.  

 

♥♥ On the breakfast plate ♥♥
I have had a cup of coffee and just had a bowl of oatmeal with a teaspoon of brown sugar, cut up date and shredded coconut.  I only had half the bowl though, just not feeling super hungry. 

 

♥♥ On the lunch plate ♥♥
I will be having a Tuna Chickpea Salad.  

 

♥♥ On the dinner plate ♥♥
Oklahoma Fried Onion Burgers, Potato skins, Salad.   


♥♥ What I'm wearing ♥♥
Still in my summer pajamas, pant and short sleeve top.  Pink with black polka dots.  It is one of the Joyful Spun pajamas that I love so much.   

 

 

♥♥ On my reading pile ♥♥
I finished 1 Samuel finally, and am now in 2 Samuel.    

Finished A Lady in Attendance by Rachel Fordham.   I was going to start The Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne, but read two pages and set it aside because I'm not in the mood for it.  I told you I'm a mood reader and will often pick up a book thinking I want to read it, and then set it aside.

 

I picked up Arabella by Georgette Heyer instead.   

 

Also starting What to Do in a Valley by Jabin Chavez, for a book review. 

 

♥♥ On my TV this week ♥♥
Youtube - 

Homemaking and book vlogs

Vlogtober

Crochet and Knitting podcasts 

 

Netflix - 

I Survived a Serial Killer

Drew Binsky

 

Turkish Soap -

Mercan Kosk

Cirkin

Guller ve Gunahlar

Muhtemel Ask

Halef

Sevdigim Sensin

Gunesin Dogdugu Yer

Anne Yarisi

Sevdan Bir Ates

 

♥♥ On the menu ♥♥

Will start working on the new meal plan today.  This is what I have planned until I get groceries on Wednesday.

 

Monday - Carne de Panela, Rice, Sauteed Greens  

Tuesday - Baked Catfish Nuggets with Garlic and Parsley, Curried Quinoa, Roast Vegetables 
Wednesday - Mediterranean Chicken Bake, Roast Potatoes, Salad
Thursday - 

Friday - 

Saturday - 

Sunday - 

♥♥ Looking around the house ♥♥
I have really enjoyed getting back on track and in my usual routine.  I've given the house a good clean, good organize and am now working on finishing the painting projects and decorating.   

♥♥ To Do List for the week ♥♥
- Carpet clean, vacuum, dust

- Normal daily cleaning, kitchen, bathroom, living spaces

- Meal plan, grocery shopping

- Budget and bills  

♥♥ What I am creating ♥♥

Will be picking up the Universe in Bloom Blanket.  I want to finish it as soon as possible because I just got in the mail a crochet book and am planning to make every single little cut animal in there, starting with Puss in Boots.  Can't wait.   

 

 

♥♥ Something fun to share ♥♥
Just recently found a new YouTube channel and I'm loving following her.  She talks about faith and slow living, which are two of my favorite themes to follow in a YouTube creator.

 

Go on and check out Ese, she is so sweet and I just love her gentle soul.  Her channel is called The Little Light Journal.  She lived in the USA for 9 years but has recently returned to her home in Nigeria.  

 

♥♥ From the camera ♥♥

One of the stray kitties outside is a tuxedo.  She has the sweetest personality and is constantly at our door.  Jasmine wants her, so we need to try and get her to the vet to check her out and hopefully she is then adopted by Jasmine.  She lets her pet her, pick her up and is always pawing at the door and will do this with our hands when we go near her, I think she wants to be an inside cat for sure.  How sweet!!!

 

We call her Pepper.  ♥ 

 

♥♥ Devotional ♥♥ 

I am starting a new bible study today from Daily Grace, called When Fear Meets Faith.  One of the first quotes in the book say:

 

The only one who can truly calm our fears is the one who will eventually rid us of our fears forever.  

 

Love it! 

 

{ Blogtober 2026 - Day 4 - October Book Possibilities }

I have long given up on making TBR piles of books.  I found that when I tell myself I need to read specific books in specific orders, I don't like it, and then I don't want to read them all.  I am a mood reader for sure, so I pick up whatever I want to read at that moment.

 

With October here, I did want to grab a few books to have on hand as possibilities for this month.  I just grabbed a basket, and went through my bedroom bookshelf picking out books that I felt I would want to read soon.

 

Little did I realize that they all look very Fall like, and just perfect for this month. 

 

Am I actually going to read them all, or any for that matter?  Well we will have to see as the month goes by, but at least I have a starting point, so let me show you quickly which I picked for my October Book Possibilities. 

Arabella by Georgette Heyer - 

 

If you love Bridgerton, you'll love Georgette Heyer

A fiery debutante. An ill-tempered bachelor. A romance for the ages.

Arabella, the daughter of an impoverished country parson, dreams of a new life in London. But her beauty and charm will only get her so far—and when Arabella embarks on her first London season armed with nothing but a benevolent godmother and her own notoriously short temper, she quickly runs afoul of Robert Beaumaris.

He's the most eligible bachelor of the day, with a personality as strong and combative as hers—and Arabella cannot abide him thinking of her as just another pretty girl after his wealth. So she allows herself to be provoked into a game of deception—one that could have unexpected consequences...

The Tale of Hill Top Farm by Susan Wittig Albert - 

 

In 1905 England, it was most unusual - if not outright scandalous - for an unmarried woman to buy and run a farm. But that's exactly what Beatrix Potter sets out to do when she purchases Hill Top Farm in the Lake District hamlet of Near Sawrey. Trying to recover from the death of her fiancé, Beatrix believes that the country will have a healing effect - until one of the villagers dies unexpectedly.

The Familiars by Stacey Halls -

In 1612 Lancaster, England, the hunt for witches has reached a fever pitch…

But in a time of suspicion and accusation, to be a woman may be the greatest risk of all.

Fleetwood Shuttleworth, the mistress of Pendle Hill’s Gawthorpe Hall, is with child. Anxious to produce an heir, she is distraught to find a letter from her physician that warns her husband she will not survive this pregnancy.

Devastated, Fleetwood wanders the estate grounds, where she catches a young woman poaching. Alice Gray claims she is a local midwife and promises to help Fleetwood deliver a healthy baby. But a witch-obsessed frenzy sweeps the countryside. Even woodland creatures or “familiars” are thought to be dark companions of the unholy. And Alice soon stands accused of witchcraft.

Time is running out. The witch trials are about to begin. With both their lives at stake, Fleetwood must prove Alice’s innocence. Only they know the truth.

Set against the real Pendle witch trials, this compelling novel draws its characters from historical figures as it explores the lives of seventeenth-century women. Ultimately it raises the question: Was witch hunting really just women hunting? 

The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart - 

 

Born the bastard son of a Welsh princess, Myridden Emrys -- or as he would later be known, Merlin -- leads a perilous childhood, haunted by portents and visions. But destiny has great plans for this no-man's-son, taking him from prophesying before the High King Vortigern to the crowning of Uther Pendragon . . . and the conception of Arthur -- king for once and always. 

The Cottingley Secret by Hazel Gaynor -

 

1917… It was inexplicable, impossible, but it had to be true—didn’t it? When two young cousins, Frances Griffiths and Elsie Wright from Cottingley, England, claim to have photographed fairies at the bottom of the garden, their parents are astonished. But when one of the great novelists of the time, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, becomes convinced of the photographs’ authenticity, the girls become a national sensation, their discovery offering hope to those longing for something to believe in amid a world ravaged by war. Frances and Elsie will hide their secret for many decades. But Frances longs for the truth to be told.

 

One hundred years later… When Olivia Kavanagh finds an old manuscript in her late grandfather’s bookshop she becomes fascinated by the story it tells of two young girls who mystified the world. But it is the discovery of an old photograph that leads her to realize how the fairy girls’ lives intertwine with hers, connecting past to present, and blurring her understanding of what is real and what is imagined. As she begins to understand why a nation once believed in fairies, can Olivia find a way to believe in herself?

 

The Mercy Falls Collection by Colleen Coble -

 

The Lightkeeper’s Daughter

A storm brings an injured stranger and a dark secret to Addie Sullivan’s California lighthouse home. The man insists she is not who she thinks she is, but rather the child long lost and feared dead by the wealthy Eaton family.

Addie secures employment in the Eatons’ palatial home, keeping her identify a secret. As dusty rooms and secret compartments give up their clues about her past, Addie finds faith and a forever love.

The Lightkeeper’s Bride

Working the phone lines one evening, Katie Russell overhears a chilling exchange between her friend Eliza and a familiar male voice. Katie soon learns that Eliza has disappeared, and the crime may be linked to another investigation headed by the handsome new lighthouse keeper, Will Jesperson. Katie and Will soon form an alliance—an alliance that blossoms into something more.

The Lightkeeper’s Ball

Olivia Stewart is heiress to an empire. Her family numbers among the Four Hundred—those considered the most distinguished in America. But their wealth has evaporated and now their security rests upon Olivia marrying well.

Using her family’s long-forgotten English title, Olivia travels to Mercy Falls, California, as Lady Devonworth. There she plans to marry Harrison Bennett, a wealthy bachelor. Harrison soon falls for her, but it turns out they’ve both been hiding something.  

 

The book I am getting ready to start is The Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne.

 

I have read so much Christian Fiction the first part of the year, and I need a little break so I don't get burned out.  I think I have quite a selection of different genres with these books to shift my reading to a more October like feel. 

 

What are you reading at the moment? 

{ Blogtober 2026 - Day 3 - The continuing renovation }

 

When we moved into this home, in 2015, I knew that there were many things I wanted to change in each room.

 

But in order to do that you need to have the means, the finances and the time.  As much as I wished I could have clicked my heels or snapped my fingers and had it all happen, I understood that all my plans would have to wait for God's timing.

 

And so we waited, and only this year, 11 years after we moved in, are we finally getting to do all the changes we wanted.  I still have a lot to do, a lot of changes coming, but it's been such a pleasure and a rewarding job to see it all come to life. 

 

It takes time and I'm not always in the mood for it, but I push through and slowly bring my visions to light.  

 

The entryway was one that I needed desperately to give some love to.  I decided to paint the white closet doors, in the same green as the living rooms, just to tie them all together.   The result was exactly what I had in mind and I love it so much.

 

Everyone that has walked in lately has commented on how much they love the entryway. 

It is not yet finished, I still need a console table to place on the right side wall, and a nice rug for the tiled floor.  But it already has a fresh face and looks much better than a white room with white walls and white doors.   

The couches are also new and were very inexpensive and just what we wanted.  It was hard saying goodbye to the old couches, it felt like they had been with us for a lifetime and had seen so many moves and so many changes, but as with everything else in life, change is needed.

 

The whole change in this dining room/den has caused me to spend a lot more time in it.  I love to sit in the mornings when everyone is still asleep, read my bible and my devotionals, enjoy my coffee and just sit in the coziness of the room. 

The room is practically finished, except for some changes I want to make to the fireplace and the mantel, but that will happen by the end of the year, definitely before Christmas.  

 

For now, I am thrilled to have this cozy room to sit in.

{ Blogtober 2026 - Day 2 - A quick catch up }

 

*sighing heavily*

 

September has come to an end and October is here.  I can tell you with the utmost honesty that I am very happy to see the month of September come to and end.

 

That big sigh is a release of the stress I felt the past few weeks. 

 

A lot has happened in the four weeks that just went past, a lot of things that shook me to the core, that tore me down, that pushed me to draw closer to God and forced me to look at me and my siblings not as the young kids we were, but the older adults that we are.  With that comes the realization that we're all getting closer to the ages where our bodies start aging and those things that we used to think only happened to the old folks, are now things that we are facing ourselves.

 

My brother Paul is doing extremely well after his triple bypass.  Everything about his surgery and recovery has been supernatural and led by God.  It's been incredible seeing this happen right before our eyes.  

 

We also had my stepmother here for the month, we visited different places, tried to show her around as much as we could while going through the whole family stress.  She is now back home and safe and sound, and routine is back in full swing here.

 

I have yet to start my fall decorations, I actually need to pull out the box in the closet and start pulling out all my pumpkins.

 

I have no read, or rather, have not finished the book I had started before she arrived.  I picked it back up two days ago and am loving being back into my reading routine.

 

I have had issues with my computer and email.  Why does Microsoft make everything so difficult?

 

Curt is back at work.

 

I am back to doing my daily steps and starting tomorrow back at the gym, something we didn't do for three weeks because the gym is only open to military, retirees and dependents and my stepmom couldn't go with us and we didn't feel right leaving her.

 

I did not do my daily workouts and am really feeling it.  I have managed to not put on weight thankfully, but also mainly because three weeks ago, Curt and I started going for morning walks at 7:30am with Kaia, and then bringing her home and going back out for a 2 mile run.  It's been amazing doing that together, unfortunately he is now back at work, which means those walks are over.  Bummer!!!

 

Nicholas is starting college on October 12th.  He has always wanted to go but we didn't have the means to until now.  He will be using the VA school benefits that Curt does not need anymore.  He is thrilled and will be attending a Christian college and taking some theology classes as well.

 

Jasmine is doing very well, she is thriving at work and is loving the new freedom she has after the ugly break up 3 months ago.

 

So there you have it, our month of September in a nutshell.  

 

At the moment, I have a load of laundry and one in the dryer.  I also have a pile of sheets, pillowcases and a duvet cover to be ironed, which will be done sometime this weekend. 

 

I hope you're having a blessed Friday, I certainly am enjoying my quiet cooler one.  The temperatures have been wonderful and we have also been blessed with rain showers.  

 

And with that, I am signing off, going to switch the laundry around, fold it, finish getting my steps in and actually doing a workout today.  

 

See you all later :) 

{ Blogtober 2026 - Day 1 }

Hello, Hello!!!

 

Welcome back to my little corner in the blog world.  It has been a month of no new posts, aside from the Monday feature.  It has been a difficult and happy month at the same time, but very overwhelming and I am thrilled to see it behind me.

 

We are back to normal routines, which has brought a sense of peace and contentment to my soul.

 

And, it is October, and the beginning of another Blogtober for the month.

 

As always, I will be posting daily, some days full posts, some days just a picture, some days a recipe, who knows, whatever strikes my fancy, but you can expect a daily post, that is for sure.

 

I hope you've all had a wonderful summer and are ready for the cooler months (my favorites).

 

Hello Blogtober, it's good to see you again ♥