A couple of weekends ago, we spent the day at Chickamauga Battlefield riding bikes, climbing the stone tower, throwing the aerobi, picnicing, and horsing around. We all enjoyed the biking, Rosebud and Doodle were unsure about climbing the stairs inside the dark tower, and Carman saw how easily an aerobi can get stuck in a tree when throwing from a high tower. Here are some pictures from our day. (more…)
It was one of those gorgeous, windy, perfect-temperature days outside that just didn’t match the household happenings. If the weather mirrored my day it would have been gray, humid, and still. (more…)
I saw my first gray hair on my 25th birthday. Now, 9 years later, I’m growing more aware of their expanding presence. At a glance, I don’t look like I’m graying, but take a close look, and you’ll see that those tokens of age, worry, and care are sporadically laced throughout my hair.
Last weekend I plucked out 20-30 of them. (more…)
My midwife told me about this homemade baby wipe recipe. I first used it when Doodle was a baby, and I’ve kept some around the house ever since. (They wouldn’t work well in a warm, humid environment [i.e. an un-air-conditioned place in the southeast] unless they were being used fairly quickly, because they would mildew.) They are inexpensive to make and are ultra-gentle on baby’s skin.
The container I use is Rubbermaid’s #6. It holds a double Bounty roll cut in half. (more…)
The older 2 kids started handling the after dinner kitchen clean up when I was pregnant last, and they’re still at it. I sometimes help out, but since we have a small kitchen, more than 2 in there gets to be a crowd. So generally, Carman & Sudoku handle the clean up, and later I scrub the pots & pans and do some kitchen prep for the next day.
So, here’s our nightly kitchen routine. (more…)
Doodle got some Silly Putty for Christmas, and it ended up on the carpet yesterday. There wouldn’t have been any trouble if it had just been picked up. But Doodle was feeling experimental, I guess. He had seen the older kids press their putty on things for an impression and then try to get the rest of us to guess what object made the impression.
So, when the putty landed on the carpet, he took a stool, stood it on the putty and pressed down. What a horrible mess! Pink silly putty smashed into the cream colored carpet.
Here’s how I got most of it up. (more…)
It has been a LONG time since I have done any sewing other than mending or minor alterations. But last week, I decided to make a skirt for Sudoku. I wanted to make something that would go with a cute Christmas turtleneck shirt that my mom appliqued for her. I was hoping to find a green corduroy to use, but settled for a medium weight cotton with embroidered polka dots (the same color as the material) that will be appropriate for most of the year here in the south.
My sewing skills being rather cold, I made a few amateur mistakes that, thankfully, didn’t cost much more than time. When cutting the material, (more…)
I was running on the street with Carman and Sudoku a couple of mornings ago. Actually, they weren’t with me but ahead of me. They like to try to beat me - and they do. Anyway, I’m running down the street, watching my 2 older children run along ahead of me, chatting with each other. They seem so mature, so capable.
Then the thought hit me. If something were to happen, and I died right now, they would be okay. (more…)
In spite of the weather being gray and rainy, my birthday was such a happy one for me. Carman & Sudoku were sneakily doing a lot of writing in the day or 2 before my birthday. When the day arrived, I was flooded with some homemade cards and about 60 coupons from the kids.
What kind of coupons? They are mostly for chores the kids will do around the house for me. Things like ( in their own spelling):
vacume the house
Read 10 books to Doodle
trim front bushs
clean all cobwebs
work in garden for 10 minits
fold laundry
dust base boards
give mama 8 kises
I will be quiit for 20 m.
I will make skrambld eags
What could be a better gift for a busy mother? I feel so loved that they took so much time to think of and write these things down. They are eager for me to cash in these coupons but have graciously given them an expiration date of one year from my birthday.
I have an October birthday, and this month I’ve decided to treat myself and Rosebud to a deluxe baby carrier. My sis-in-law introduced me to the ERGO baby carriers when Doodle was 15 months old. I liked it a lot, but didn’t feel I could justify spending the money since he was already walking and would be wanting to walk more and more rather than being carried. (more…)
Last night, our local homeschool group had a mom’s meeting. Our special guest, who let us pick her brain, was a mom of 4 who started homeschooling 25 years ago. She had met Raymond Moore (author of Home Grown Kids and Better Late Than Early) and was friends with the home schooling developers of the Konos curriculum. Here are some of the highlights of what she shared: (more…)
OK, ladies. If you’re like me, you have a sort of phobia about the car, the computer, the lawnmower, weedeater… I’m always afraid I’m going to damage something in trying to fix it myself. What if I make the problem worse?
Knowledge is power. But getting too much at one time - especially when it is concerning an unfamiliar topic - is not good. Also, there’s the problem of losing what you don’t use. We don’t often get our heads under the cars, so when a crisis arises, there’s the fear of not remembering what we’d once learned. So…for those of you like me, I’m not berating you. I’m sympathizing with you.
My mom came to visit for the boys’ birthdays this week. As she was leaving to return home, the brake fluid light came on in her car. I took her to our local mechanic, but he wasn’t in. We then headed to Wal-Mart’s tire & lube center but didn’t get any help from them. They are not certified to deal with brakes. So, even though they had employees who knew how to check such things, they could get in legal trouble for doing so. (Thank you, big government.) (more…)
Marathon’s sister recently sent me an article of homeschooling tips by homeschooling pioneer Mary Pride. The 2 most helpful to me were the following. (more…)