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We’ve been good. A little chaotic but good.
It’s kinda ironic the way my life works. When I had plenty of time I had NO internet connection. Now that I have plenty of internet connection, i have NO time!
But I love you SO much that I made some time. Just for You!
We are officially moved and it has been crazy busy.
Of course we have been busy with other things too. Like getting ready for school to start next week. And I’m going to be gone ALL weekend. I am seriously SO excited!!!!
But…..
that means….
that the BIGGEST Thing of them ALL….
will have all of the *little Things….
by himself…..
for 2 days.
So ya’ll need to PRAY hard for him 
and them.
Have a GREAT weekend!
I put the kids in school last year.
I know.
Don’t bad mommy me.
It was a VERY hard decision to make.
I was writing my own curriculum for 3 schoolagers.
In 3 different grades.
And a preschooler.
I was pregnant.
And very TiReD.
I was chasing a very active toddler
And an extremely hyper preschooler.
There was SO much going on at the time ~ you have NO idea what we went through the past 14 months ~ and
I. Just. Couldn’t. Do. It.
I admit it.
I am not *Supermom.
So I prayed and I prayed because I couldn’t just hand my little *things over to the Fla public schools.
That would have been the equivalent of throwing them into the *Lions Den.
And yes, I know Daniel made it out just fine.…
but it’s not like his mom is the one who tossed him in there!
So I was led to a charter school. Actually a Montessori Academy which fit them perfectly coming from a fairly laid back and self directed homeschooling enviroment.
It’ technically a public school, BUT because it’s a charter school it’s run like a private school.
Which we could NEVER afford with 6 kiddos.
There are only 16 (or less) kids in each class.
And,
imagine my shock (and joy) when I found out they actually PRAY *in school.
Yes they do.
But I still felt really really guilty.
Like maybe,
just maybe,
I had failed.
My children.
And my God.
And that I was definently not the *good mommy that I thought I was.
And that I try SO hard to be.
Then I read this book, about the life of Paul.
How EVERY detail of his life
(his birthright, his citizenship, his parents sending him to study under Gamaliel)
was specifically planned the way it was for him to fulfill his purpose.
And I realized that it was OK if *I wasn’t the one who taught my children math. Or science. Or geography.
Because *I am still teaching them the most important things of all.
My baby boy, the original toddler~gone~wild, Thing 4 is 3 years old today!
5 Comments:
- Happy Birthday Thing 4!! I didn’t realize our toddlers were so close in age, mine turns 3 in about three months. Hope you all have a fun time celebrating!
- Awwwww! happy birthday to your baby!
- Thing 4… that is very funny. Dr. Suess could only handle two of them. You’re like a hero! HB to the little man.
- I knooow !
He’s so old … haha - Happy Birthday Thing 4!!
- she is gorgeous!! Great pic!!
- What a great photo. It would make a fantastic scrapbook page.
- She is adorable.. I cant tell if she is confused or a bit mad
- What a little diva! She’s a beauty!
- LOL that pic was taken after 2 days of disney when we were about to go home ~ so she was probably both:)
- lol, i’m a deLurker now I guess.
Look at that face!
Jadyn’s just starting to make those!
Today I have
- Washed, dried, folded & fluffed (ha ha ha do you really believe that?) about 200 loads of laundry. Really. That’s not an exaggeration.
- Wondered how such relatively CLEAN children can make thier clothes SMELL so BAD.
- Changed roughly 30 (million) dirty diapers.
- Wondered WHY they have to be SO much like thier daddy in *that respect. Maybe HE should be the official diaper changer.
- Listened to Thing 1 describe ~in detail~ his latest story creation. Life in Snotland. Complete with illustrations. And maps. “Daddy lives on booger lane, where do you want to live?” As far away from there as possible.
- Wondered if there is a way to somehow count this little project as ’school’.
- Kissed thousands of boo boo’s. Real & imagined.
- Yet, when Thing 4 smacked his head (hard enough for me to HEAR the Whomp) and I asked him if he wanted mommy to kiss it he just said “No it’s good ma” and continued on with his little 2 yr old life.
- Wondered when my love for my children overcame my complete disgust for all feets.
- Watched Thing 5 make faces in the mirror.
- Wondered how long the “playin with the pretty baby in the mirror” game would actually be entertaining.
- 47 minutes. Yes the child looked at herself in the mirror for forty seven minutes.
- Aaaand we watched her the entire time.
- Yes we have no life.
- We started out with nothing.
- And we still have a little left.
- Listened to Thing 1 tell the very vivid (& unfortunately true) story of how he and the biggest Thing of them all caught a dead cat while fishing the day before.
- Apparently it was SO cool.
- But only because it was already dead.
- Wondered if the entourage of pets that have lived & died during thier time with our children, has emotionally scarred & completely desensitized my child.
- Was actually thankful to find out that he cried when they caught it.
- Felt bad for being happy about a crying child. Still a little happy to know we can skip the years of therapy.
- Would have skipped the therapy anyway. We have daily therapy sessions on our knees.
- Wiped snotty noses 400 times.
- Once with my shirt.
- Wondered if the snotland story was based on actual facts.
- Decided to change my layout AGAIN.
- Wondered if I really *do have multiple personalities.
- Started to write a post about the layout changes.
- Wondered why I was trying to rationalize blog background decisions to an inanimate object.
- Skipped the post and ate some chocolate instead.
But if you happened to notice the changes, and are curious, I HAD to change it. It was a chocolate beach. I thought that was really cool. 2 of my favorite non *Thing things. BUT then I realized that since having that background, I was not eating chocolate. And I like chocolate. Alot. So, you see, I had no choice.
*** Edited ~ Thing 1 has brought it to my attention, that the reference to booger lane was incorrect. It is actually booger pit road. And his dad not only resides there, he is the king of snotville … er snotland. Thing 1 has very *graciously forgiven me for this error. According to him I am not expected to really understand such complex ideas. Thank God for that. I was having quite a hard time wrapping my tiny little brain around such a big thought. ROFL
Do you ever get tired of hearing….
JUST A MOM?
JUST A MOM?
A woman, renewing her driver’s license at the County Clerk ’s office was asked by the woman recorder to state her occupation. She hesitated, uncertain how to classify herself.”What I mean is,” explained the recorder, “do you have a job or are you just a……?”
“Of course I have a job,” snapped the woman”I’m a Mom.”"We don’t list ‘Mom’ as an occupation, ‘housewife’ covers it,” said the recorder emphatically.
I forgot all about her story until one day I found myself in the same situation, this time at our own Town Hall.The Clerk was obviously a career woman, poised, efficient and possessed of a high sounding title like,”Official In terror gator” or “Town Registrar.” “What is your occupation?” she probed.
What made me say it? I do not know. The words simply popped out.”I’m a Research Associate in the field of Child Development and Human Relations.” The clerk paused, ball-point pen frozen in midair and looked up as though she had not heard right. I repeated the title slowly emphasizing the most significant words.
Then I stared with wonder as my pronouncement was written, in bold, black ink on the official questionnaire.”Might I ask,” said the clerk with new interest,”just what you do in your field?”
Coolly, without any trace of fluster in my voice, I heard myself reply,”I have a continuing program of research, (what mother doesn’t) in the laboratory and in the field, (normally I would have said indoors and out).
I’m working for my Masters, (first the Lord and then the whole family) and already have four credits (all daughters). Of course, the job is one of the most demanding in the humanities,(any mother care to disagree?) and I often work 14 hours a day, (24 is more like it). But the job is more challenging than most run-of-the-mill careers and the rewards are more of a satisfaction rather than just money.”
There was an increasing note of respect in the clerk’svoice as she completed the form, stood up and personally ushered me to the door.
As I drove into our driveway, buoyed up by my glamorous new career, I was greeted by my lab assistants — ages 13, 7, and 3.
Upstairs I could hear our new experimental model, (a 6 month old baby) in the child development program, testing out a new vocal pattern.
I felt I had scored a beat on bureaucracy!
And I had gone on the official records as someone more distinguished and indispensable to mankind than “just another Mom.”
Motherhood! What a glorious career!
Especially when there’s a title on the door.
Does this make grandmothers”Senior Research associates in the field of Child Development and Human Relations”and great grand mothers “Executive Senior Research Associates”?I think so!!!
I also think it makes Aunts “Associate Research Assistants”.
6 Comments:
- I love this!!
I awarded you with the Thinking Blogger Award… Hop on over to today’s post to see what it’s all about!
- That is so great. I think we should all get desk titles with that on there & pamphlets of our job description should anyone ask. I wouldn’t be able to do that with a straight face or be that creative with a drop of a hat.
- LOL neither would I. But I am good at studying. So maybe I’ll just print it out & memorize it. haha.
- I have seen this so many times before, but it never ever gets old! Thanks for renewing the smile I get from this article.
- That’s SOOOO great!!! I love IT!!!!!
Domestic Engineer doesn’t even touch it!
Heather
- Heather – Thanks for stopping by my blog! I loved this post. I have what I call my family business card. My title on it is COO of Larson Holdings. If no one took on the job of mothering, where would we all be?
I’ve been trying this new thing lately. Being quiet. Think before I speak, if you will. I know. I should already know how to do this. I’m sure I’ve learned this before at some point in my life. But I just don’t think the lesson took. Obviously. Or I woudn’t be *practicing the art of keeping my mouth shut. Right now. Probably at this very moment.
And ya know what??? It’s freakin HARD to do sometimes. *Especially when I think I’m right. Or righteous. Since I’ve been keeping my thoughts to myself, they’re overloading my brain. I barely have time to register 1 thought before the next one comes popping along, rudely interrupting like there was nothing there already.
So guess what? It’s your lucky day! If you like random, unorganized, momble jomble. I won’t be offended if you don’t. Really. Not even a little bit. That does mean that it’s not~so~much your lucky day. But these thoughts have to go somewhere. So..either way, here’s some random truthiness.
- If you’ve never been here before, you might not know that I’m a compulsive listmaker.
- Unless it’s just that obvious.
- I think I’ve finally figured out why I like lists SO much.
- They surface clean my brain.
- & they somehow make even the utterest of chaos look neat & organized.
- You know how I feel about surface cleaning.
- In a perfect world, if I made a list of every single piece of clothing my children have gotten dirty this week if it would *magically clean itself.
- Have ya noticed it’s not a perfect world?
- Guess that means I should get on that laundry a little quicker.
- So I’ll save that list for another day.
- I know.
- It’s devestating.
- I know you’re tearing up right now at just the mere thought of not seeing that list.
- Me too.
- You should be careful what you name your children.
- Has anyone ever told you that your child’s name determines what kind of person they will be.
- They lied.
- My sister wanted to name her youngest daughter Harley.
- I don’t know why.
- My mom (hers too) told her she would be a hellion with a name like that.
- So they named her Rebecca Lynn.
- Such a sweet name.
- Thing 2 cracks me up.
- I think it’s because she’s ALOT like me.
- I tend to crack me up too.
- Someone has to amuse me.
- It might as well be myself.
- Thing 1 *9b did something earlier.
- I don’t remember what.
- But I said ‘ Thing 1 I don’t find that humorous at ALL.’
- Thing 2 *6g ~ in her little girl princess~like little~girl~way ~ says
- ‘Not even a little bit!’
- Do you consider yourself a quiverful mom?
- I do.
- As far as quivers go, mine feels pretty full sometimes.
- But I like the organized chaos of it.
- What I did not know was that there is an entire MOVEMENT.
- What exactly is the movement for?
- And where is it going?
- Why do we take 1 little part of what we are supposed to be about
- and let that define us.
- Why are we so intent on trying to make our mark on the world
- that we forget to leave his imprint in the world.
- I had a conversation once.
- I’ve had a conversation more than once.
- But I had this *particular conversation once
- A girl I had just met was asking me what I do.
- As in, for a living.
- When I told her I was a sahm of 5
- and a homeschooler
- she got this really confused look on her face
- And asked if she could ask me a personal question
- Sure.
- why not.
- we’re used to it right?
- But then she proceeded to ask
- somewhat bashfully and embarrassed,
- ‘How do you give them all a bath? I mean, how does that work?’
- I promise.
- That is what she asked me.
- And just when I thought I’d heard it all
Okay, for those of you who actually made it through that list and are still reading waaay down here, I know you’ve had your Most~bizzare~thing~I’ve~ever~heard & the~absolute~last~thing~I~expected~to~hear Moments. GO post about it right now and then leave me a comment so I can go read it.
I really can’t believe you’re still here. Amazed really. Even the biggest Thing of them all glanced over and said ‘uh baby, that’s a really looong list. And he KNOWS I’m all about the list. So, umm.. great job! You deserve some kind of reward for that endurance. Let me see what I can find for ya.
3 Comments:
- 1. If making a list ever cleans your laundry, let me know.
2. I’d be right there with ya.
3. I think Rebecca Lynn is a pretty sweet name too
4. Though, I heard plenty of “Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm?” growing up.
5. Never saw that movie (Shirley Temple)
6. Don’t like ‘Becky’.
7. I still don’t know what the movement was and now I’m curious.
8. I’m glad you’ve had more than one conversation.
9. Did you tell confused girl that baths took too much time?
10. So you just hose them off in the backyard – saves on time & water?
11. If not you should next time someone asks you.
12. I’ll have to think of my “most bizarre thing I’ve heard moment”
13. Then I can post about it for you to read.
14. It’s on my list of things to do.
15. Ya know *that* list, the one that keeps growing.
16. I need to type up that list.
17. Is this a long comment list or what?
18.
19. Thought you’d appreciate it.
20. So, now I am craving cookies.
21. Is that supposed to be my reward for reading your post?
22. Great reward if I was close enough to drop by and enjoy some.
23. Guess I’ll have to settle for the Mocha Brownie Avalanche ice-cream in the freezer.
24. Now you want ice-cream huh?
25. If you were close enough to drop by I’d share with you.
26. Sorry.
27. I hope you have a good day.
28. See you on the blog later.
29. I should do some more work on the house.
30. First, I’ll go make that list.
31. Maybe the list will complete the work for me… - ROFL I *most definently appreciate the list comment. You crack me up girl Oh and thanks for the ice cream craving now. You should be a better sharer…
- LMAOOO !
Heather i love you .
That was so OCD but it`s all good !lol
Maybe I am. Okay I probably am. BUT. I’m drawn to the whole idea of unschooling. I don’t know why. Maybe God is trying to tell me something. OR maybe it just sounds cool.
I like the idea of Anti School. Is that a valid homeschooling choice? Or did I just make it up? Hey maybe I can write a parenting book about it. It’ll be a best seller. Ya’ll would buy it. Wouldn’t you? Of course you would. How else would it be a best seller?
SO I’m thinking of trying this ‘unschooling’ thing. Atleast for the summer. But there’s a teeny tiny problem. It’s the ugly anal~retentive~perfectionism thing rearing it’s ugly head again. I would just knock it out with a cast iron skillet but that would hurt ME. I’ll have to come up with another solution.
How about ya’ll? Any unschoolers out there? What do you do? How do you do it? Does it involve lists? Is it totally sick that I hope it does? SEE that’s the anal thing I’m talking about. Obsessive Compulsive LISTMAKER. There. I said it. Now you don’t have to. Really. Don’t say it.
I know. I have serious problems. I’m workin on it. There’s no pill for it. I’ve checked. Okay not really. I’m a wimp. I don’t like pills. But I thought it might make you feel better to think I was actively seeking help.
2 Comments:
- Well, I haven’t done any kind of homeschooling yet so I don’t know anything about the ‘unschooling’ stuff but it does sound interesting. However, I am totally with you on the listmaking!! I love to make lists & even more, checking stuff off as I finish the task or get the item or do whatever it says I need to do. If the unschooling doesn’t involve lists I’m sure you’ll be able to make up your own anyway. Hope you find what works for you!
- Heather . Doll. and you say i have problems ?!?!
lol
Tis why you are my favoritest aunt though !
Would you think me a horrible mother if I told you that the REAL reason I cover my face when my children are saying thier prayers is because I don’t want them to see me laughing? This one child in particular cracks me up. I know, it’s just plain wrong. You’re going to laugh too. Then we’ll both be wrong.
Thing 2(6yog): “And Dear Lord please forgive us for all of the things we did and said that were not good today, and please forgive us for all of the bad things that we are about to do.”
(Does this mean she’s planning in advance?)
Thing 2 ” Please God make me beautiful in You because I so LOVE being pretty.”
Thing 2 “Jesus please bless my aunt Tina and help her not to be sad and help her to find a new racecar boyfriend who makes her happy. And please give her lots of princess dresses, *and me too, because pretty dresses make everyone SO happy. Especially meee.”
(But not so much her Aunt Tina ~ who would rather take 6 kids under 10 to chuckee cheese by herself than wear a ‘pretty princess dress. Have you ever tried to do that? Definently NOT something I would recommend. Ever. As in..to infinity and beyond NEVER. Just so you know how strongly I feel about this issue. Did I mention the word never yet? Okay, had to make sure.)
My sister doesn’t have a ‘racecar’ boyfriend. In case the suspense is killing you. He drives an RX7. I think. I can’t really remember. I know that it’s yellow. ish. Or maybe gold. Although.. he does resemble Jeff Gordon. But he’s good people so we try to overlook that. He is NOT a Gordon fan. That helps. SHE is. I guess that helps too. Well, it helps him anyway.
I think it’s awesome that my children are just themselves before God. No pretenses. Just what’s in their true heart. The honesty in it just makes it that much sweeter. But I bet He’s laughin too:)
- That is way too cute! I often find myself trying to supress a giggle when my little ones are praying too, especially my two-year-old! (In fact, I was just thinking this morning how I wanted to write a post on this very thing!)
Anyway, I have enjoyed reading your very witty posts… I have laughed and found myself wondering how we could have such similar lives and experiences. Must be the fact that we both have lots of little ones, we homeschool and we LOVE it!!
Blessings,
YoungMommy - Noah, my 3 year old son, when he prays, always says. “And God, thank you for the girls, the babies, and the ladies”….can you tell he’s our little flirt. But you’re right, it’s such a blessing to see their innocense before our Heavenly Father. So happy to hear you’re training them right!
- That is so great. My son (2yr) just started trying to say his own prayers, nothing is really understandable except “Jesus” and “Amen” but it’s still cute. My favorite thing is how he wants to pray whenever, not just before meals, and he includes his 6 month old sister in on it too.
I think I’ve become ‘that mom’. No, not that mom, the other one. You know, the mom whose mind has completely evaporated to the point that she can’t remember her child’s name until she gets to it as she goes down the list. I’ve caught myself doing that SO many times lately.
One of my~little~blessings in disguise, will do something they aren’t supposed to do (did I mention that they’re not perfect either?) and I will start to call ‘em on it, and then I caaaalllll the wrong name. That’s when the list starts. And by the time I get it right, I am either (a.) feeling SO guilty (& more stupid than I care to admit) for not knowing my own child’s name that I can’t bring myself to continue or (b.) walking out of the room looking stern but really trying not to totally lose it because they cannot contain the amusement that they get from watching mommy act insane. It’s a very effective discipline method, if you haven’t guessed. . Maybe I can use it somehow to create a new *style of parenting and make millions. Whadd’ya think? (that word looks weird to me, but I like it anyway)
“What can we do?”, you ask. Don’t ask me, I have no brain left remember? But you better start thinking quick because you could lose yours at any time too!!
It’s Okay. You can rest easy. No need to stay up all night stressing about it. I think I’ve come up with a solution.
I must end the disillusion of my insanity…. ( Which translated roughly means: yes I’m quite aware that I have lost it ~ whatever it was to begin with ~ I can’t really remember anymore exactly what it was ~ but we are going to pretend that I haven’t. Someone who doesn’t know me might come along and read this, and want to think that I still have it. And we don’t want to scare them off. So be a nice bloggyreader and just play along. *I’ll pay you later* )
….I am going to give them all the same name. That way, I can never get it wrong. And more importantly, I will look sane.
I know how important it is for children to have their own individual identities. So, I’ll give them different middle names. And while I’m at it, I might as well change my Love’s name too. I don’t want him to feel left out or anything.
On second thought, maybe I will call them out by name. Thing 1 and Thing 2, Thing 3 and Thing 4, Thing 5 and the biggest Thing of them all.
6 Comments:
- Sadly, I know what you mean…and I only have 2! AH! I pulled a first yesterday and combined my oldest sons first name with my daughters middle name, making him…Noah Beth….well, he didn’t pay much attention, just said, Noah CORT mama. Yeah, well, whoever you are! LISTEN TO ME!
- rofl that’s EXACTLY what I tell them!
- Haha, I do that a lot with two kids, the youngest who isn’t mobile to even get into trouble. But she looks a lot like my son did as a baby and I catch myself calling her his name. I get my son’s & husband’s names mixed up all the time. Gee…wonder what that might say – “like father like son” maybe?
- That’s funny Becca. My youngest son is EXACTLY like his father! He looks & acts like a ‘mini me’. Maybe the name game is just a mom thing.
- I TOTALLY CAME UP WITH THE THING 1-5 THING ! Cause i told you about the shirts they have now and said that you needed one for all your kids .
hehe :]
- you’re so right brit. you.rock
5 Comments:
Blessings!
Heather
When i read the part about ‘thing 5′ making faces at herself in the mirror i started cracking up ! Cause i thought about when you me and mama were sitting outside. …. when was it ? Friday ? Yeah and she just randomly started making faces in the mirror .
Snotland …. or road or what ever it is called sounds ….ummm….interesting … lol
i love your kids :]