At my house this week...

This week has been so busy that I've hardly had time to sit down. We took the week off from school last week and getting back in the swing of things this week was more of an effort than I thought it would be. Especially since we had so many other things going on.


One great thing required absolutely no efforts on my part whatsoever...my baby sister's birthday. She turned 19! Isn't she gorgeous? Well, when she's not making funny faces. But she makes funny faces a lot, so...Anyway. Not only is she gorgeous, she's kindhearted and principled and generous and hysterical. She's in college, planning to be a missionary. Now what does such a wonderful girl want for her birthday?

I went through all of the kids clothes this week, switching from summer clothes to fall. I had to leave a few short-sleeved shirts and shorts in the closet though because it's still pretty hot around here. I also pulled out all of the clothes in storage - sorting some to sell at the big consignment sale and putting anything that will fit into the right closet. Levi has a ton of hand-me-downs to grow into from his cousins and of course jack and Christian have hand-me-downs from Levi. Christian will wear the clothes that Jack wore last winter. He's only two pounds smaller than Jack right now and they're a year and a half apart. At any rate, Brenna is the only one that needs clothes - for the boys I'll probably just pick up a few things to freshen up their wardrobes. I have a nice list put together for Brenna - the big pre-sale consignor's sale is Tuesday night. I can't wait!

My pastor's wife and our Sunday School Superintendent came over to go over the church website with me and to work on updating our church policy manual. It was so nice to talk to other grown-ups. I'm planning on having them over for lunch sometime soon now that I've seen the kids will behave. Just as soon as I get over this awful cold/sore throat!

We also finally had our lunch at Pizza Hut for reading 30 books in August. It was lots of fun. The kids really enjoyed getting to go "out" to eat instead of just bringing something home. I think for this month we'll pick a different prize. For one thing I want them to read for the pleasure of reading not just for the prize and for another Mommy's not up to taking four kids out to eat by myself every month:)

Our homeschool group got together on Friday and that went really well. All the kids were divided into groups for reading groups (book clubs for kids!) and art classes, free play and volleyball (for the big kids). The moms are even discussing starting our own bookclub. This will be a once a month thing and we're also having a picnic at the park day once a month. That leaves one Friday a month for playdates and field trips and one Friday for me to regroup!

Now I'm off to get started on lesson plans for the next few weeks.

A Wedding Shower

My aunt and I gave a wedding shower this weekend for my cousin Brandy. I love showers, but they're always more work than I remember. This one was very worth it, though. There were lots of guests and Brandy got lots of good gifts. I always remember how much Casey and I appreciated all the shower gifts we got. And when I think about starting out a brand new household now with everything getting so expensive so fast...well, I'm glad we could all help out a little.

And it was just so much fun to get to see everybody and visit. When I was growing up I loved going with my mom or Granny or Grandma to showers. It seems like women don't get together for things like that as often anymore - we're just all too busy and I think we've forgotten the value of these "girl's only" events. I think I've started Brenna off on the right foot, though. She had the best time yesterday at our girl's only party:) She helped and visited and had a ball (until a precious puppy made her temporarily lose her cool). It's all she's talked about today!

ed to add...

Since we're probably going to be giving another bridal shower in a few months, I'm going to post the menu here so that I can find it later on:)

Sandwiches - pimento cheese, chicken salad, and...?

Shrimp cocktail dip with crackers

Endive with herb cheese

PepperJack cheese straws

Chex mix

Cookies

Brownie bites

Cheesecake dip with strawberries

Nuts

Chips and dip

and Cake!

Strawberry punch (thanks, Melanie, for the recipe!), iced tea, and co-cola:)

I don't know what to say except that I couldn't not post this.

Thanks, Barbara.

Some of the books we read in August

This was our first month of school and we read thirty books! Well, we wrote down thirty books...I think we probably read a good bit more than that because we didn't count the books Levi takes to bed or the books we've already read a hundred times. I just keep track of the books that were new to us or that Levi read and insisted I write down.
Bread and Jam for Frances falls in that second category. Levi reads this one all the time and Brenna loves it too. I'm especially fond of the descriptions of food...the lunch her mom packs at the end is so lovely! It always inspires me to try to make nicer meals (Frances's mom doesn't serve fish sticks!) and it really helps the kids to be less picky!
The Frog Wore Red Suspenders was full of funny poems. Being a Georgia girl, I especially like the one about peanuts! The pictures were funny, too. Levi picked it himself and he read it several times - always a good sign.
I loved Little Farm by the Sea. Beautiful pictures and I loved the way the family pulled together to do farm chores. It was a neat introduction to seasons, too.
As part of our history study we read One Small Blue Bead and it was very good. I wanted to avoid any discussion on evolution for right now and since the drawings in this one looked a little like Neanderthals I was a little concerned, but the book doesn't mention anything like that. It actually led to a great discussion about the Tower of Babel (check out this book on that) and how in a few generations, people could have come to believe they were the only ones on Earth. Also, the young man in the story shows a real servant's heart and that impressed me:)
Another history book, Seeker of Knowledge, was a very good story. Well worth the read when I overheard Levi telling his granny about the Rosetta Stone! It was inspiring to read about Jean-Francois Champollion's passion for his work.
The last book we read for our list was Brenna's favorite. If Everybody Did is a very funny look at what would happen if everyone had bad manners. The kids were cracking up over the very simple black and white drawings (we checked out the older hardback copy from the library).
Now I have to plan a day to take them out for a pizza lunch and decide on a shape for our September reading window. I'd like to use apples, but do I really want to cut out 30 or 40 apples? But I do have a lot of red construction paper....

Library Day

Since Levi was a baby we've been going to the library on Tuesday mornings for Storytime. There've been lots of times when we didn't go for a few weeks, but for the most part it's been a pretty constant thing. Now that he's starting to outgrow it and we're getting so busy, it was tempting to find another time to run in and pick up the books I put on hold. But I really wanted the little kids to get to go to storytime, too, and I really want Levi to have time for browsing through the books so I settled on a trip to the library every other week (with occasional quick stops on errand days just to pick things up or turn things in). I'm planning to let Levi browse while I take the little ones into storytime when he gets completely bored in storytime, but that hasn't happened yet so we just go early to browse.

The second problem was that Levi wasn't really browsing - he went to the same sections every time (Transformers, Ninja Turtles, trains...not my idea of quality reading material) and I'd have to drag him to look at anything else. So when I saw this idea I knew it would be a perfect way to get him reading different things. I limited it to four 'required' books since I knew I'd already be picking out a pile to bring home and I added the call numbers to introduce that idea to him. I showed him where to find the number on the book and explained that if the call number fits between the numbers on his card, it counts for that section. He didn't quite get that until I explained that it just has to start with the same number, then the light bulb came on:)

I printed out the card using clip art and pasted it on a scrap of card stock, then laminated the whole thing with packing tape. I use that stuff for everything - it was on my school supply list:)

(ed to add - I hope the picture is legible. My camera is acting up again!)

Christian's First Birthday

It was a very busy weekend! The highlight was definitely Christian's party - he had a ball! I was running so far behind when everyone got here that I wound up putting everybody to work...but they all pitched in and we had a great time.

Christian was less thrilled with taking his very first picture on the steps but at least he didn't cry:)

At my house this week...

So far this week seems to be going pretty well. I'm getting a lot done , although you'd never know because the living room and toy room are still a disaster. Those will be the last rooms I clean because the kids are hanging out there while I clean everything else.


I'm planning on finishing up the cleaning this afternoon. I, of course, bit off more than I could chew. My beginning list took up three pages in my notebook! But I think I got more done by starting with a big list and crossing off the less necessary things than I would have if I started with a list of what I thought I could get done. And it was very handy to be able to look at the list and assign a job to whoever popped there head and asked to help. Levi and Brenna have both actually been big helps, but it is almost impossible to do anything with all of them "helping" at once! It was much easier to start them playing and then call one of the older kids to work a shift.


We got a lot of reading done this week. For every book we read (or Levi reads) we add a part of our flower...

Lovely, isn't it? When we've read thirty books I'm going to take them to Pizza "Hunt" for lunch, but that's a surprise for now. They just think we're making a flower:)

Also, Christian really started pulling himself up on everything! He's been pulling up on the rails of his crib for awhile now, but he hasn't really done it anywhere else. This week, though, he seems to have discovered that there's a lot of fun stuff on top of these tables!

The kids' clothing sale was postponed so I haven't had to worry about that this week. It's looking to be even bigger this fall and in a larger building, too. I get so excited about this sale but it is full of really great clothes and, provided you get there early, there are some great deals. Most of the time I sell enough to at least cover the amount I spend.

Well, I'm off to finish up in the kitchen. My curtains are clean and ready to be pressed! It really doesn't take much to make me happy:) Making things pretty is my favorite part of cleaning, so I bribe myself with little projects like ironing the curtains or rearranging the pictures to get through the scrubbing. Sometimes we have to make our own rewards.

The week ahead

This week is going to be so busy. For one thing I'm going to do my big fall cleaning. A smarter person would've planned this for next week after Labor Day when we're going to take off from school, but Christian's birthday party is this weekend and since everyone is coming over to grill out I want the house to be clean and shiny. And at least this way I'll be able to really relax and enjoy our break next week.
Besides the big clean up and preparing for the party, I'm also trying to get clothes together for the big kid's clothing sale. I usually spend about a week getting all of that in order, but it sort of snuck up on me this year. I had hoped to volunteer to help with the sale this year, but I won't have time. Maybe next spring.
It's also my Grandpa's birthday so we're going to go to his house on Friday night for his party. I can hardly wait - I love going to my grandparent's house!
Let's see, what else...there's library day tomorrow and preparing for the class I'm leading on Wednesday night. There's school and let's not forget the requisite grocery shopping expedition. And I'd like to squeeze haircuts for me and Brenna in there sometime...
But I'm oddly excited about getting all of this done. Something about the change of the seasons always gives me a boost. And I love fall. I'm already trying to figure out if we can squeeze in a trip to the mountains and making plans for our annual field trip to the pumpkin patch. I'm hoping to list what I get accomplished on here later today. We'll see!

How we've spent our summer

Someone in this family has been sick all summer long. Since April. Jack ran a fever off and on for the last two days and now it's hit Brenna. I had to call and ask my pastor's wife to fill in for me leading my adult class at church tonight...again. I'm actually feeling like I should just give up trying to lead this class. I do really enjoy it, but I just hate having to ask someone to fill in all the time!

On the up side, I got to snuggle on the couch with Brenna and read her favorite book. Well, one of her favorites anyway...she's kind of like her mom- we have lots of favorites:)

It's called Elizabeti's Doll and it's one of my favorites, too. I love that Elizabeti makes her own doll and I love that she wears her baby just like her mom wears her baby brother. Brenna does that all the time. It's a really good story and the pictures are just gorgeous. I know, again with the artwork:)

And I'm back

I finally got my computer home yesterday. I had no idea how much I would miss it! Who knew that I used it for so much? Thankfully they were able to save everything on it, but I will be backing up everything from now on.
In the meantime, school is going really well. One of my favorite parts so far has been all the reading we're doing. I've always read a lot to the kids, but it's usually been books that they choose - whatever they bring me, basically. But now that I've been planning out so many books to read as part of our curriculum, I'm really enjoying it even more. Our librarian's are so helpful. I can get online and request as many books as I want from our local library or any library in the state and they email me when I have a couple waiting at the desk. Which means I don't even have to go upstairs to get myself a book when I take the kids in. Now if they'd just install a drive through...
We're making every other Tuesday Library Day. Tuesday's are storytime and we used to go every week, but I'm really committed to staying home a few days a week. Levi is learning his way around the stacks. I made him a "laminated" (with clear packing tape) card listing the kinds of books he has to check out each week. I think I got this idea from The Well Trained Mind. I tried to keep the categories to a minimum for this year. He chooses one book from each category - social sciences (which I help him choose because there are a lot of books in this category that he's not ready for...Coping with a Gay Parent for example...sheesh), science and technology, arts and recreation, and literature. I, as always, have final veto power, but I'm trying to let him choose for himself as much as possible. For example, last week when he chose a book about Christmas (in August, y'all) I didn't say a word.
One book he picked out last week was really great, though. Thunderstorms by Nathaniel Tripp. Levi is fascinated (and terrified!) by thunderstorms so I thought knowing more about them might help. Children's books seem to focus on how kids feel about thunderstorms, though, and that seems to reinforce the idea that there is something to be afraid of. This book was wonderful. It's the story of a big thunderstorm passing over a farm. There are lots of scientific explanations about what's going on with the weather, but there's also a lot of story about farm and animal life. I also liked the way it shows neighbors helping one another and the art work is lovely. I'm a sucker for the artwork.
I've read some other great books lately so I'm planning on writing about some of those in the next few days. And I've got to get some of our homeschool plans up on here soon. But first it's time for Brenna's medicine...we all seem to have summer colds.

Away from my desk

My computer is in the shop. I had no idea I'd miss it so much! Thank goodness hubby doesn't mind sharing his:)

First Day of (Home)School 2008

This morning went really well! We stuck to our schedule for the most part and I think it's going to work out pretty well. Casey brought home Krispy Kremes for breakfast - yum! They were still nice and warm. I think this might need to become a tradition:)
They were all so excited about their lunchboxes that we included them in the official first day of school picture. Jack chose batman. He's a little obsessed. He spends a pretty good bit of each day wearing some sort of cape.
Brenna is a kindergartener! She's only four but she does so much with Levi that I thought it would be neat to have them just one year apart. If we need to add an extra year in there somewhere that shouldn't be a problem, but I'm afraid it's going to be the opposite problem - that she grows up all too fast for me! Already she looks so grown-y!

And now my first grader. Oh my word, I can not believe how fast he's growing. Look at those legs! Every pair of pants he owns is suddenly at least an inch or two too short. My baby boy. Not such a baby anymore...

I have so much I want to post about. I love the books we're using this year and I put together a good sized list of activities to keep Jack busy while we do school. I've read lots of good books I just need to tell you all about. I'm planning a wedding shower with my aunt for my cousin. Facilitating a class at church on Today's Disciple. Lots of stuff to chat about only I have to make some time to chat!

Maybe tonight, blogging always helps me get my thoughts in a row:)

The Closest Thing My Kids Have to a Pet

Starting around March, this lizard visits our back deck every morning. We see him on the back door, literally, every day. The kids have a ball watching him and aren't nervous about him at all (what with the glass between them and all). Even I like to watch him. This is our third year with a (this? how long do lizards live, anyway?) lizard visitor. This picture is from Spring 2006.

Look how little the kids were! Brenna wasn't even quite two. So I guess I shouldn't be surprised when they yell "our lizard's here!"... As long as they don't invite him in.

Our first day of school will be next Monday! With the heat and daily thunderstorms around here, it just makes sense to do school now and take a little extra time off when the weather is nicer - maybe around Labor Day. I'm so excited, but I have so much to do! I started by buying school supplies because I love school supplies:) And then I got started on some scheduling. Figuring out how to work in storytime at the library for the little kids (and library time for my big boy!) along with other fun stuff like playdates and field trips and going to the park along with reading books and doing lessons at home - oh, and don't forget naps! and making dinner! and my husband! - was challenging. But here it is in all its glory! I'll update in two weeks if I've completely changed everything:)




You can click on the pictures if you're hard of seeing like me, but be warned it's still fuzzy:)

Renewing my mind

After I wrote yesterday about getting things together I did manage to check off the items on my list. But my heart just wasn't in it. I was so looking forward to feeling like I'd accomplished something, but I was so cranky and I think we all know if mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy.

So, after spending today trying (mostly unsuccessfully) to shake myself out of my discouragement, I finally sent the kids out to the pool and sat down at the computer. A self-indulgent waste of time? Well, not this time, anyway.

I looked through all my homemaking files and my favorites list and found one uplifting article after another. After spending a little time drinking from this fountain of material, I feel so energetic, so ready to tackle this mess. Here are a few of my very favorites...

• Why I Love Homemaking I think there will be a lot of women in Heaven thanking Laine. Her letters are so cheerful and self-effacing and...they're just wonderful.


• Homemaking: An Art to Be Learned This is a really good article about learning to care for a home. I think it's really written for girls and young women, but the description at the beginning of the workings of an ideal home is lovely.


• The Wife and Queens Ride By should be required reading for every new bride. Thinking about all the work involved with running a home makes the task seem larger than life, but when I remember the effect that it has on my husband and my kids (and me!) it makes it so much easier.

Amish Country Home by Carl Valente

I may say that I work best under pressure, but I crave the peaceful happiness in this picture. There is too much going on in my little corner of the world. There's good stuff, like planning for school next month, and heavy stuff, like our struggling church, and difficult stuff, like a six year old who thinks he 16 or 60 (the rolling eyes, the know-it-all attitude, the "Listen, mom, it's like this") - oh my word. Sometimes stuff just seems to take over my life.

But my big problem lately, and you'll just have to trust me - it is a big problem, is me. I'm letting everything get to me until I'm not getting to anything. One problem leads to another and while I'm busy thinking about those problems, three more crop up. It's like laundry...first you just skip doing it one day, then you're running late because your kid is out of socks. And when you're late maybe you yell "hurry up" one too many times and maybe your kid has a melt down from the stress. Maybe. And maybe you're so exhausted from the day that when bedtime finally rolls around you veg out in front of soapnet instead of doing the laundry. And, again, this is all purely hypothetical. But my point is, "taking a break" or giving myself some "me time" doesn't really seem to help. The work just waits for me and, since it's bored, it reproduces. And then I'm more discouraged than I was when I started. And I don't intend to live my life discouraged, always wishing for my next time away.

Meredith shared today that she's ready to snap out of it - I think she called it Better Wife Bootcamp:) If anyone has a good reason to take it easy and let some things slide, Meredith surely does! But I'm so glad she wrote this post today.

So I sat down to make a plan of attack...it's not a full bootcamp, but hopefully it will be a start.

• I must have a clean (clean! not just straightened up!) kitchen before I go to bed every night

• all the laundry gets washed and dried today, folded and put away tomorrow


• no tv tomorrow - a trip to the library, the swimming pool and helping Mommy should keep everyone busy


• set my alarm to get up in the morning in time to fix Casey breakfast

Now, to get to work...

I couldn't resist adding one where she's smiling. She had a wonderful time at the BK Lounge with bestest friends Ryan and Riley.

Brenna turned four...

and I forgot to post her picture on the steps. Well, I didn't forget exactly, I just kept thinking I would go back out and try to get a picture of her smiling. I took 12 pictures of her and she was smiling and happy the whole time, but not one of the pictures has a good smile with her face turned to the camera - there was a plane, some neighbors came home, lots of distractions for a very distractable little girl:) She's very like her mommy that way...

I worry a little that she's getting lost in the midst of all these boys. She's so soft-spoken that I don't even always hear her over the firetrucks, tazaran yells, karate chops, and machine gun fire. Hmm, Brenna and I need more tea parties...

My Girl

How Mommy Gets Some Work Done

Our street is a little too busy for the kids to play by themselves in the yard just yet, but I can see the back deck from the living room, kitchen and my computer so every summer we haul the baby pool up the steps and they spend hours out there (with industrial strength sunscreen, of course). Last summer they wouldn't stay for long because it was soooo hot, but this year has been much nicer so they are really taking advantage. Christian plays sometimes, too, but only when I can go outside. Now if I throw some bubbles in while they play, will it count as a bath?

On Education

I recently ran across this post - John Wesley on Education - on Vodie Baucham's blog. It's worth reading, a good reminder about what we ought to be preparing our children for. If you don't already read Vodie Baucham's blog, I highly recommend it. His sermon, The Centrality of the Home, is one of my favorites.

Time to Update the Old 101 in 1001 List

With only about 6 1/2 months left to finish this (wow! 1001 days seemed like forever when I started) it's looking like a few things may fall off the list. For a control freak/obsessive list maker like myself that would ordinarily be a problem, but I'm feeling strangely okay with it. I'm so glad I made this list though - it's been really great for reminding me about long range goals that I would've forgotten about otherwise.
(the ones in red are done)

Apr 17, 2003 - Jan 13, 2009
Homeschool
1. Pray about our home school goals
2. have a homeschool planning time
3. Get rid of unwanted hs materials
4. attend hs convention
5. join hslda
6. teach Levi to read
7. start having a regular school time
8. have a big “starting homeschool” day this fall
Health & Safety
9. buy and take a quality vitamin everyday
10. put together an emergency/disaster kit
11. put together a first aid kit
12. serve a raw vegetable or fruit with every meal
13. get a fire ladder and have a fire drill
14. do a detox after weaning Jack (ed. Do this after weaning Christian)
15. drink only water for a week and see if I feel better
16. buy and try stevia instead of sugar
17. take Levi to the dentist
18. exercise 3x a week
19. use only nontoxic cleansers in the house
20. Lose 60 lbs ( I can’t believe I wrote down the number!)
21. go to bed and get up earlier
Homemaking
22. Hold a garage sale
23. Make a family tree and hang it up in the house
24. Decorate the playroom
25. Decorate Mbed and Bath – make it a retreat
26. Get rid of unwanted toys
27. Decorate the kids’ rooms
28. Fence in the yard
29. clean out my closet and get rid of all the clothes I don’t wear
30. get a new kitchen table and chairs
31. paint scripture on walls
32. complete my black and white picture frame of all our family
33. decorate patio
34. invite people over for supper at least 1x every other month
35. organize storage room to hold outgrown kids’ clothing
36. learn how to make really good biscuits
37. learn how to make a great 14 layer cake
38. have Christmas presents made or bought and wrapped before Dec 1st
39. learn to cook cabbage the way Casey likes
40. put together a list of a months worth of well-liked meals
41. create and follow a workable cleaning schedule
42. make silhouettes of each of the kids to hang up
43. establish a chore chart for kids and use it
44. keep meals in the freezer to take to people in need
45. pack an emergency diaper bag for the trunk
46. read or get rid of all unread books
47. Reorganize all my books
48. make a price book for groceries & household stuff
49. grow an herb garden
50. try once a month cooking
51. Pay off all debt except house
Family
52. sign Levi up for scouts
53. make Easter more meaningful – establish more traditions
54. take the kids to the zoo in Atlanta
55. take the kids to the aquarium in Atlanta
56. swim w/ kids
57. Start Brenna’s pearl necklace
58. Take the kids to the beach
59. Verbally praise more than verbally correct
60. teach kids good manners
61. Have a pajama ice cream run
62. Invite Bet to stay with us over the summer
63. be at Bethany’s high school graduation (I'm still a little upset that I didn't get to do this one - very early labor pains with Christian kept me from traveling)
64. plan fun things with nieces and nephews
65. start a playgroup in our neighborhood
66. get a playhouse for Brenna
67. have a traditional picnic with Casey and kids
Church Family
68. Encourage someone at church every week
69. Weekly praise a child that’s not my own
70. start a church library - I'm so glad to have this one done! It's really growing, too!
71. go to ladies retreat at least once
72. have a cookie decorating party for the kids at church
Personal
73. build a basic wardrobe
74. take better care of my skin
75. get teeth whitened
76. buy and wear really good makeup
77. get a cool shorter hairstyle
78. Take care of my nails
Spiritual
79. Memorize 3 scriptures per week for a month
80. Pray faithfully for family, church family and friends
81. Finish reading through the Bible
82. establish a daily Bible and prayer time and keep it consistently
Casey
83. pray with Casey every day
84. Pray for Casey daily (use POAPW)
85. plan an overnight getaway for me and Casey
Service
86. be an active prayer partner for a volunteer at the pregnancy center
87. find a way to volunteer at the pregnancy center
88. make shoeboxes at Christmas for the Christmas Child Project
89. sponsor a child
90. grow my hair to donate to Locks of Love
Misc.
91. invite another woman over once every other month
92. get to know some neighbors
93. make a will and have it notorized (or whatever to make it official)
94. get a bigger vehicle
95. finish “baby” quilts for all three kids
96. learn more about the Old testament laws/ traditions
97. write something and submit it to be published
98. Write a letter explaining our “quiverfull” philosophy
99. write 1 letter a month to friends or family
100. Don’t check email on weekends
101. Catch up on scrapbooks

Well, it's pretty clear what areas are easier for me and what's going to take a little more willpower. Somethings may not be as important as I thought. For example, we haven't even looked into scouting yet. But overall, this is a really handy way to make some long range plans - and it's fun to see how much I have gotten done!

Christian at the Ballpark

Christian is 10 months old already. He looks small in this picture but he's actually a pretty decent size (20lbs at the last doctor's visit) - Praise God! After worrying over Jack's growth for so long because of his reflux, it's very reassuring to see Christian getting a little pudgy in some spots:) He's old enough to have acquired his own nicknames now...I occasionally call him Crispy and Casey calls him Triscuit. I'm not sure why we do this to our kids, but since it's a tradition now, I'm not sure we could stop if we wanted to.

Sweet Mandy asked for a better look at the notebook - I was flattered enough to jump right on it, but my camera has been on the blink. Isn't that always the way it goes (at my house, anyway)? But the camera's finally working a little so I thought I'd record the creation of my July notebook. I'm starting it a little early because Jack somehow got ahold of my June notebook and scribbled on half the pages. Bad Jack. Bad. Anyway.

The first thing I do is get out my pretty pictures file and dig through all the, um, pretty pictures, until I find some that look good to me right now. Obviously this will be different for everyone - this is also what makes this so fun. For some reason bright pink was just calling my name this month... Lots of these pictures won't get used, but I like to have plenty to choose from.

Next, I get a plain Jane notebook. The sturdier cover and cheaper price of these make them an excellent choice.

Now I start picking and choosing pictures and tearing them to fit. Feel free to use scissors if you want your notebook to be boring and dull with no cool-edgy-torn effect. Sometimes I use a piece of colored scrapbooking paper for a background, or sometimes I choose a really large picture for the background. Either way, it's easiest to have one piece that covers all the brown-ness and then build on top of that.

I like to have some words somewhere on the front because that's just the kind of person I am. Sometimes a Bible verse, sometimes a quote...one day I might do one with just words all over it. I love words. Let's move on.

Now I slap some modge podge on the cover and start placing things where I think they should go. A couple of notes - always lay it out first and smooth it out really well (see my wrinkles? the ones on the notebook, I mean!). Rubber cement works much better than modge podge, but sometimes I have to make do. I will not go to Walmart just for rubber cement. I just won't do it!

Sigh. Now it seems like I can start all over with a fresh clean slate. All those messy to do lists and menu plans and memos are gone and blank pages wait for me to craft my life in them...that's pretty deep for a 33 cent notebook, don't ya think?

Should my first homeschool conference be in my jammies?

I saw this over at Amy's (she's having a contest for free registration, by the way, but don't sign up cause I want to win!) and it looks fabulous. $19.95 is not a bad deal.

Y'all are going to think I have too much time on my hands...

but I have had a rough day (it was my preacher's last day at church...very emotional) and I just want to think about something that makes me happy. My notebooks make me happy. I've been using a plain brown steno book as my "brain" for awhile now. It's so important to me that I bought a purse with a pocket to fit. The problem, of course, was that they're plain and brown and ugly. They do not go with my pretty new blue purse! I also had a stack of magazines that I couldn't throw away because they were just too lovely (Southern Lady for example). So I tore into the magazines and pulled out every picture that appealed to me...blue hydrangeas, pecan tassies, lace hankies, a golden pineapple, peaches, whatever,,,and saved them in a file folder. Now each month I start a new notebook. It only takes about 15 minutes to dig through the pictures til I find some I like and glue them to the cover. Rubber cement and/or modge podge seem to work the best, by the way. Now I know this probably seems a little like a waste of time, but y'all it is so much fun to turn this boring old notebook into something pretty and interesting. And looking over them today really did cheer me up:)

This was taken at the end of a very fun filled day - first church, then my Grandma's 70th birthday party, then a visit to my Granny's - so I hope that explains the pizza and ice cream on Jack's shirt and the missing ribbons on Brenna's falling braids. But I just had to post it anyway - they were so excited to see all the flowers blooming. Hopefully we'll get a neater picture soon (but I'm not counting on it!).

Bad Weather

We had some awful weather this week - hail and tornado warnings. Just last week on Mother's Day there were tornadoes very near here. Moving around so often as a kid gave me a healthy exposure to different kinds of "weather" - tornadoes and thunderstorms in Oklahoma and earthquakes, volcanoes, and tsunamis in Hawaii. Not that I was ever in a tsunami, but in Hawaii they teach schoolchildren what to do in case of one. Come to think of it, I wasn't actually in a volcano, either. But on was erupting while we lived their and we did stand a few feet away from the oozing lava. Anyway... Because of all that I've never been especially nervous about weather. I'm not a tornado chaser, by any means, (though Twister is one of my very favorite movies of all time!) but I'm not one to run to Walmart every time there's a rain cloud either like certain Grannies I have! And yes we've told her Walmart is a bad place to be in a tornado - some habits are just too hard to break.

But all that was to say this...the bad weather on Tuesday made me nervous. Just realizing that I have four little ones to get to a safe spot and that I could be doing that by myself if hubby were at work was a little frightening. So was the fact that only one flashlight had batteries in it and once the power went out we had NO contact with the outside world (cell phones only worked some of the time). So I'm making some quick bad weather plans.

Here are directions from The Weather Channel on what to do in case of a tornado...

In a Frame Home
Make sure you have a portable radio,
preferably a NOAA weather radio, for information.
Seek shelter in the lowest
level of your home (basement or storm cellar). If there is no basement, go to an
inner hallway, a smaller inner room, or a closet. Keep away from all windows.
You can cushion yourself with a mattress, but do not use one to cover
yourself. Do cover your head and eyes with a blanket or jacket to protect
against flying debris and broken glass. Don't waste time moving mattresses
around.
Keep your pet on a leash or in a carrier.
Multiple tornadoes can
emerge from the same storm, so do not go out until the storm has passed.
Do not leave a building to attempt to "escape" a tornado.
In a Mobile Home
Leave your mobile home immediately and take shelter elsewhere.
Outside
Try to get inside and seek a small protected space with no windows.
Avoid large-span roof areas such as school gymnasiums, arenas, or shopping
malls.
If you cannot get inside, crouch for protection beside a strong
structure, or lie flat in a ditch or low-lying area and cover your head and neck
with your arms or a piece of clothing.
In a Car Ideally, you should avoid
driving when tornadoes or other kinds of dangerous weather threaten, because a
vehicle is a very unsafe place to be. If, however, this is not possible, stay as
calm as possible, and assess the situation.
Your best option might be to get
out of the car and lie flat in a ditch or other low-lying area that is
sufficiently deep enough to protect against the wind.
If you do so, beware
of water runoff from heavy rain that could pose a hazard; get as far away from
the vehicle as possible and shield your head from flying debris.
Or, if possible, take shelter immediately in a nearby building

I have lots to do around here to prepare including making a bad weather kit and buying a weather radio. Any ideas about what must be in the kit?

Things change

My Sunday was lovely. After Sunday School the kids and I headed out of town to a family reunion and we all had a great time. It was wonderful to catch up with cousins and let the kids meet cousins they didn't know they had. It was wonderful.
But Sunday evening I got some very upsetting news. My pastor announced his resignation. He is taking a church about two hours away from here. I am heartbroken at the idea that they'll be leaving. I feel like I'm losing part of my family! (And my babysitter! What will I do without Lauren!?!)
And yet as Casey and I talked and then as I talked to Sherri, my pastor's wife, I can see God's hand in all of this. I know my pastor to be a man of prayer and I have faith that he is following God's plan.
It's so uncomfortable when God changes things, isn't it? I cling so tightly to the idea that I can control our little lives, even picking and choosing the areas that I turn back over to Him. Please Lord, change this and this, but don't change this! Growing up as an army brat, I swore that once I got grown I would settle down and never move! But for all my big plans, things do change. People come and go from our lives. Friends we see several times a week are suddenly "email only." Family dies. People change and make decisions that separate us. Even my precious babies who, right now, consume all my time, will need me less and less as they grow.

The only relationship I can truly rely on is my relationship with God. So why is it the easiest to put off? The easiest to coast along in?

Mother's Day

I'm glad I read this post of Meredith's the other day. Levi brought me these beautiful blooms from our garden yesterday. Unfortunately he left the stems so more flowers would grow:) They fit in the dish my grandma bought me in the mountains, though, and really brightened up my kitchen. Isn't he the sweetest?
Happy Mother's Day!

Wrapping Up Kindergarten

Only three more weeks until I'll officially declare this school year over. Levi has done so well. We've worked our way through the starfall.com website and his reading is really exceptional for a kindergartener. I know that sounds like bragging, but I really can't take much credit for it...he just seemed to pick it up. I started him on English for the Thoughtful Child this spring and we both like it. It does have quite a bit of writing and he gets a little tired of that. Sometimes I make him plow through and sometimes I let him narrate to me.
We've also covered the whole Saxon K book and we're working on Saxon 1. I really love Saxon's spiral approach of doing a little of everything everyday, building on concepts slowly. But Levi does get bored with it, so I edit quite a bit when I know he's had enough repetition. As a matter of fact, we probably could've skipped Saxon K altogether. Now I know.
He's on Book 3 of the Draw Write Now series. I love these books for drawing and handwriting. Levi loves to draw so he loves them, too. We're almost done with the beginning MindBenders book and Beginning Geography: How to Use a Map - both of these have been fun. This spring we started doing Spelling as a separate subject using Spelling Workout A. I skipped the first few lessons because they seemed a little simplistic for a kid who's already reading, but the book itself is really good. We've done lots of other things like making a nature notebook, learning hymns, memorizing the books of the Bible and learning the catechism. Most importantly (to me, anyway) we've both gotten used to the idea of homeschooling and learned to adjust things when they need to be adjusted.
I planning now for next fall. I've planned to follow the general outline of The Well Trained Mind since I first read the book when Levi was a baby. The thing that appeals most to me is the idea of studying history in the order that it happened. We bought The Story of the World already and Levi is going through the activity book picking out projects he wants us to do (will I really be able to stomach making a real chicken mummy? that's right mummifying a chicken we bring home from Kroger, y'all).
Since we'll be beginning with ancient history in the fall I wanted to go back just a little farther and study how history started in the first place. Of course Levi already knows the creation account from the Bible. But I wanted to really delve into it a little deeper this summer so we're going to do a unit study on Genesis using books like these
The Creation
Adam and Eve and the Garden of Eden
Dinosaurs of Eden
Dinosaurs by Design
The True Story of Noah’s Ark
Tower of Babel
There will probably be a lot of emphasis on dinosaurs if I know Levi...I just plan on exploring whatever he shows an interest in.
I think I'll post about what I'm planning for next year later since this post is already probably more than you ever wanted to know. Just one (maybe two) last thing(s). If you're homeschooling little ones or thinking about it, Holly has a great series going on here, here, and here. And I've decided to start kindergarten with Brenna next fall, even though she's just turning four this summer. I'm certainly not trying to rush her at all, but it's really just a matter of labels. She insists on doing school with Levi anyway and if she isn't ready for first grade work after one year of Kindergarten we can always do another year. For me having a grade level is just about the kids being able to answer "what grade are you in?" when other kids ask them. It will make history study much easier, though. We'll study ancient history, for example, next year when Levi is in the first grade and Brenna is in Kindergarten so she'll start at the beginning, too.

Recuperating

Everyone is feeling better...we're left with just a few sniffles and stuffy heads. Everything looks better after a visit to Grandma's house. The pecan trees are in bloom - maybe not so great for my allergies, but definitley balm for my soul! I don't know why Grandma's yard makes me feel so much better, and I don't know why I don't load up the kids and go more often. They had a blast fishing...

And I got to eat fish and unwind while the kids played and my uncle put the baby to sleep... It just doesn't get much better than that.

Still sick...

The kids are all better and straining at the bit to get outside and play. It is beautiful here - blue skyies, light breezes. Casey is even feeling better. But I'm still sick. I'm guessing it's a full-on sinus infection cause I feel lousy! I'm going to doctor myself up this evening and go to bed early. I have to get better before Friday - my grandparents are having a fish fry!

Some Sort of Spring flu has knocked us for a loop

I think this is the first time that all of us have been sick at one time - a right of passage, I suppose for moms of "large" families. We've all had fevers, sinus issues, and assorted other aches and pains all week. Well, Brenna has really only had a runny nose so I guess this might not qualify as my first epidemic after all. But it was major enough to keep us all home from church today and that almost never happens. I hate to admit this, but it was so relaxing to get up and just hang out at home. Casey is usually home on Saturday mornings now that he's quit his side business, but he's usually up bright and early to work downstairs (that reminds me, I need to post more pictures soon). So it's pretty rare that I get to sleep in but that's just what I did this morning. It was lovely.
Despite being quite sick this week, I've still had more energy than I can remember having in a long time. Nursing Christian has been tough for the last few months and, as sad as I was to end it, I feel a lot better physically. It's been the perfect time to start the getting organized plan. The new grocery plan is up and running. I've really just gone back to the way I used to do things, which I'll have to write about after the kids go to bed. But I'm also making a lot more things from scratch and looking for a lot of substitutes for the convenience foods we've gotten (much too) used to. The reality of having four little kids doesn't always match my ideal of making all our food from scratch. Sometimes it's better to feed them frozen pizza if it means we have time to do a science project or play outside a little longer. But we all like Casey to be home to play, too. And the better steward I am of our resources, the more he can be home. It's all a big balancing act. Which hopefully will be easier when my ears stop popping.

Field Day Is Tough on Babies

Here's a picture of Christian because I can't believe I forgot to take the camera with me to Field Day. We're just getting involved in the homeschool group here in town and so far Levi is really enjoying it. Today was the first really good and hot day - to hot for me and the littles to stand outside and watch, but that was fine with Levi. He made new friends and was fine. It's always me that's a little nervous.

We were all pretty tuckered out when we got home though.

Spring Schedule

Okay, here's the first draft of the new spring schedule. We'll see what gets tweaked over the next few days...

6 AM
Feed Christian
I’d like to get up and have some quiet time in the mornings
7 AM
Jack’s usually up by now, I’d like everybody to get up and start on their morning chart before Casey gets home
Breakfast
We can all sit down for breakfast together and then I can take a shower while Casey hangs out with the kids
Before 9 AM
Casey goes to sleep
School time
Feed Christian and put him down for a nap around 10
Around 11
Finish up school for the morning
Kids play
I can do whatever I need to work on for that day
1 PM
Lunch for everybody
Kid need to pick up toys while I fix lunch
After we eat, Jack goes down for a nap and big kids pick out books for reading time
Quiet Rest Time/ Reading Time
Big kids read or are read to for 30 min to an hour, then rest w/tv
While they rest I can work at my desk or on whatever I didn’t get done earlier
Around 2:30, feed Christian and put him down for an afternoon nap
After QRT (3- 4)
Go outside to play
5 PM
Come inside to fix supper
Wake up Casey
Kids can play
6 PM
Eat supper
Clean up kitchen, kids pick up toys
Baths & get ready for bed @ 8
Feed Christian at 8 and put him to bed
Around 9
Casey gets ready for work
I can finish up my projects
Go to bed at 11

Well, that would be a "regular" day. There are lots of exceptions to the rule...
Grocery shopping on Thurs @9 - Levi can do school after we get home
Library Tues @ 10:00 - Levi can do school after we get home
Church Wed @ 7 - supper at 5:30
Baseball practice 5:30 Monday - supper @7
6:30 Wednesday - supper @ 5:30
Baseball games? Who knows?
Thorough housecleaning - Friday mornings 9-11, short school after
Field Trips/Play dates - Friday afternoons

I got something on my list started! I'm so excited! I've already missed my bedtime, though. I'm going to need to work on that.

Getting Organized

This sure seems to be a recurring theme around here. That's probably because, while I love getting organized - containers! lists! schedules! - staying organized is not my strong suit. Hmmp. Not my strong suit, indeed. And things change so fast around here that I have to revamp everything pretty regularly so even if I did manage to stick with a plan for any length of time, I'd be making lots of adjustments all the time. At least that's my story.

So back to the organizing. When the first Duggar special came on tv (and I have them on tape, y'all) I just knew I'd pick up a couple of tips. And I did - we now write our names on cups and only buy one kind of socks - the thing that stood out the most was a comment the dad made about the mom not really being all that organized until their fourth child came along, at which point it became a matter of survival:) I, um, see what they mean. I have Mommy Brain in the extreme. And, yet, I essentially have to be the brain for myself and four other people. If I don't write it down, it never happened. Also, as the kids get bigger there's more to do - homeschool, baseball, church things, etc.
So all of this has been to say that I'm going to spend this spring getting things in order with a system that will be easy to live with. Some things I've already got figured out, but I'll be writing about all of it here because, like I said, if I don't write it down, it never happened. And on that note, here are the first areas I'll be working on...

• getting the car in order for spring/summer outings - I have a good start here, but I still need to clean out the car and get it nice and neat
• kids rooms need to de-cluttered. I like the way both rooms are organized, but sometimes there is just too much stuff
• the grocery shopping system is working very well, but I want to get it written down and I want to work on spending less on groceries
• laundry! I've tried doing some every day and I've tried saving it all for one big laundry day, but neither of those plans seem to work to well for us.
• my kitchen needs organizing something awful - the fridge is crowded with leftovers no one ever eats, I can't remember what's in the downstairs freezer, and my cabinets are pretty inadequate for the way I shop.
• Jack needs to start potty training, which doesn't sound like an organizational issue. But trying to get four kids quickly to the potty in Walmart for an emergency is a feat for a civil engineer:)
• Our daily schedule needs revamping now that we're going places again. Staying home has been lovely this fall and winter, and I'm still trying not to run around much, but it's time to venture back into the world.

That's not all (by any means), but it's all I can think about right this minute without my brain exploding so I'll leave it at that for now. Hopefully, I can get some work done on our schedule today and post an update tomorrow. Hopefully.

I can't decide if this is scary or hysterical...

I just read this article, "Three Kids? You Showoff" by Pamela Paul, in the Post. It's hard for me to imagine that people really think it takes a million (that's right, the author guesstimates a million) dollars to raise a child. Or that anyone would have a child to show off. They do realize that children are real live people, right, not a new purse or a cool car. Right? And children need a nanny? Or two nannies? And squash?!? Are people really making their kids take squash lessons to get them into Harvard? I had no idea my poor children were so deprived! Only one mom to care for all four of them? Only one extra activity per year (regular old baseball? I guess a state school is in their future, huh?)? Cold diaper wipes? Plain old wooden blocks instead of an iPod or Wii?
Check back with me in 12 years to see how much we spent on Levi - I'm guessing we'll come in a little under Ms. Paul's budget.

Staving Off Mommy Guilt Via Advanced Planning

Levi's first baseball practice was last week on what seemed like the coldest day this year. The long sleeves I put on the kids were useless in the face of biting wind. Not the best of times to discover that Casey had cleaned out the trunk of my car for me...taking all the jackets inside. So how come I was still the one feeling guilty about my freezing little ones? Cause I'm the mommy, that's why. But my friend Debbie came to the rescue pulling hoodies out of the back of her van like some kind of supermom, wordlessly reminding me that I need to get our "on the go" stuff organized. Through the winter we stayed home a lot, just venturing out for church and our library's storytime. But now that baseball has started up we'll be running a lot more and running with a baby and a toddler (and a preschooler...and, oh did I mention, a kindergartener?) requires much more stuff. And so I must organize the stuff. Also, organizing the stuff is a handy way to avoid trying to figure out why I feel threatened when other moms appear to have it more together than I do. Cause really, that's a whole other post.
So...what does one need to keep several small children warm or cool (you just know as soon as I remember to put sweatshirts in the car it will be 99 degrees), fed, entertained, safe, clean (enough), and out of (too much) mischief?

• sweatshirts or jacket
• baby wipes and diapers
• a small first aid kit
• a potty seat lined with a diaper in a plastic bag
• paper towels
• extra clothes & underwear for babies and toddlers
• a throw blanket and/or plastic tablecloth for picnics or for sitting on when the ground is wet
• Tylenol & Benedryl ( I might add Valium to this list later)
• plastic bags and baggies
• sunscreen
• a hand broom to knock the sand of the playground set before they get in the car
• drinks and snacks
• toys, paper and crayons or markers (which would hold up better in a hot trunk? Probably markers, huh?)

I have a rubbermaid container in the trunk that usually holds most of this stuff, but I may need to upsize a tad. On the one hand, I like to be a simple mom.

Need a drink? There's the water fountain.

Want a snack? Use your money.

Bored? Go play on the playground.

But my kids are too little for all that simpleness to be very effective. One mom with four kids (one who's yelling "hey, mom, watch this" like every.five.seconds.) is NOT simple and I need to just admit that and move on. So what am I forgetting on this list? What other possible scenarios could I be prepared for?

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter!

I certainly did. Jack woke us all up very early but as I was grumbling to myself I remembered Mary walking to the garden to prepare Christ's body. I'm sure she wasn't complaining about the early hour - she was on her way to do the only thing she knew to do for her Master. And aren't I doing all of this for Him? So I snuggled with my babies and we read the Resurrection story. What better way to start the day?!
The day wasn't all perfect (um, by any stretch of the imagination), but I did have a wonderful peaceful feeling all day long. Here's hoping I can hold onto it.
Because baseball starts tonight.

Jobs

Being a mom is a big job all by itself. Even just raising one child - feeding them healthy food, seeing that they're educated, involved in appropriate activities, making sure that they grow and develop at the rate they should, all the various appointments involved, making sure they get enough love and attention - well it takes a lot of brainpower. Multiply that by four. And factor in a husband with scheduling issues ( to put it mildly!). Add in homeschooling, church, and trying to run a house. No wonder I'm tired:) It doesn't leave much time for deep thought. Or any thought for that matter, which is why posting here is so random. It isn't that we aren't doing interesting things, I just don't have time to blog about them.
I do seem to have especially a lot on my plate right now...Christian is teething (the first one is through! yeah! please no one remind me how many more to come!). Levi is also having some dental issues so we're finding a dentist. Fun. Can you feel my dread? I hate the dentist. Speaking of Levi, he's finishing up everything I had planned for kindergarten already, but I hate to lose the momentum we finally have going so we're starting on some new stuff. And the kids have started Kids Club at church on Wednesday nights, which is fun, but really messes up our evening routine. And there is red crayon melted on about 1/4 of the clothes we own - any ideas? And I'm trying to rearrange the grocery budget since groceries have gone up right along with gas. The church library I started is still sitting in my garage. And the garden (how can I be behind already?!). Plus Easter!
Okay, I've got to stop there. I'm getting tired just thinking about all that. Actually, I'm going to have to scratch some of that. I just realized as I was typing it out (and that is only a partial list!) just how nuts it is to try to do all that with four little ones. No wonder I haven't been anticipating Easter like I want to. Who's had time to think about it! So I'm off to look at my to do list and see what should be cut and what should be postponed. Then I'm getting out the Easter stuff!