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Tricks of the Trade. 1.
A friend of mine is expecting her second baby any day now. And she asked me a version of a question I have been asked many times before. She said, “With six kids, do you finally feel as if you’ve got this? “ You know – if I have this parenting thing down pat. We both laughed. I said, “Well, by six kids I think you realize that you don’t have anything down, but you just no longer care who knows that you don’t have it figured out.” And that’s true for me. I don’t have anything down pat because few things ever seem to stay the same, from month…
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a magic number
I am so enjoying eight at our house. I love the way London is a deep thinker, a kind leader and an amazing artist. She is such a good protector of her baby brother and she is so capable of real, helpful tasks. She can ride a bike, catch lizards, read stories and a few weeks ago she made a red velvet cake – plus cream cheese icing – entirely from scratch, completely by herself following the directions in an old family cookbook. It tasted delicious. It was like eating a miracle. That she was once a dependent little thumb-sucking infant and now she is all of this. That’s astounding.…
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I Heart Productivity
Do you know what I really appreciate? Productive Saturdays that feel slow and enjoyable. It might seem like an oxymoron but sometimes, some days, it really happens. And last Saturday it happened at our house. The day just felt long – in the best way possible. I took the bigger kids to Lowe’s to complete their first Build and Grow project while Kevin enjoyed some Otto-Daddy time before Kevin had to go film a wedding. And the kids walked away with cute aprons, a fun patch and the sweetest little terrariums. A home I finally glued that bottom wooden piece of our staircase into place after four months of it…
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The Sign That London Read
So. Since I’m working with Hands On! that means extra trips to Hendersonville to the museum. And I’ll take any excuse to head to that fantastic Main Street. Seriously – I feel as if it’s a mini-vacation just to cross the border on the beautiful mountain drive and wander up and down the sidewalks. (And no, I’m not working for the town of Hendersonville. Although I probably would.) Anyway. The kids and I have a pretty basic routine to our excursions. But this trip we stopped at a little area that said “bird sanctuary” that Danny and Beckey had pointed out to us last time we were there together. It…
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a change of pace.
There’s been a lot of talking going on in our house the last few days. And I’m almost weary of words. (Can you believe that?) But what I’m not weary of – and what I feel like focusing on anyway – is something else. The simple beautiful. I needs me some of that. When Emma was here for a visit with her boys last week she brought her camera. (Because she’s an incredible professional. Paper Story Photo & Design, friends. That’s where it’s at.) And while I wasn’t looking and while she wasn’t nursing her newborn son, she must have snapped some photos of our new old home. All I…
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book reviews, other blogs, helping hands
I’ve been singing the praises of our favorite children’s museum for as long as we’ve been living in South Carolina. We’ve been visiting Hands On! with friends and alone for years now. And I’ve often joked that they should pay me to support them. In fact, I make that joke a lot with any company/brand/organization of which I am overly fond. (Keen. Nalgene bottles. You name it.) But this time, my joke is sort of working out. I’ve been partnering with Hands On! since February to help promote the museum through social media. (Yep – be my pal and hop over to their Facebook page and like them. And, if…
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Once Upon A Saturday: A Chicken Story
This weekend these chickens moved into their larger, more luxurious accommodations. This weekend this chicken smoked us out of our accommodations. The end.
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good words. V.
“Quality time” can never substitute for ordinary days spent doing ordinary things together. – Elisabeth Elliot
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Yesterday.
I couldn’t just talk about Hawkeye on one day only. The kid’s so cute, he deserves a day or two, right? We had a plan for his birthday – we really did. Bergen asked to go on a hike and we were only too happy to oblige such a simple and sweet request. However, the rain had other plans for us. And so did the strep throats that three of our chaps were sporting. Instead, we postponed the hike for Saturday and spent the day being a lot more flexible. At the breakfast table Bergen was served his breakfast of choice – waffles with homemade cream, topped off with one…
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april 18
Happy Birthday Bergen Hawkeye. Every morning when you wake up with your moppy blonde hair sitting directly over your keen blue eyes, I think to myself – I could not love you any more than I do right now. My heart is virtually bursting with affection for you. And then the day passes. And every night I tuck you into your bed, quilt underneath, quilt on top, shaggy hair still a rowdy mess, eyes still piercing blue, I think to myself – I love you even more tonight than I did this morning. You are amazing. Happy Birthday Seven!
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Fox and the Great ‘Ricket Round Up
This one. My last. And yet somehow a new beginning. He sleeps with twelve or more matchbox cars under his pillow. When he finds a blue truck that has escaped its under pillow hideout, he scoops it up and laughs. He reaches under the pillow, stashes it safely and pats the hard collection he’s got going on. He’s a little obsessive. Along with the hoarding, you know. Right now he’s all about “rickets”. Which are actually crickets. Which are actually grasshoppers. And he’s been spending his days combing the field in pursuit of the camouflaged creatures. He’s relentless – he is. With a little help from his sisters and…
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this weekend’s miracle.
Last Friday a miracle occurred. A real live miracle. A miracle five years in the making. Or, more like, sixteen years in the making and five years in the un-making. In fact, it is the un-making that is the actual miracle. Over sixteen years ago two goofballs with no life experience got married in a cow field in Virginia. And then those goofballs had the good fortune to each acquire a decent job with two decent salaries. This good fortune lasted for a few years. Then a move to another state, two less-than-stellar paying jobs and the cash flow abruptly ended. But the two goofballs, despite a few years of…
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Friday.
This weekend we’re just gazing upon sweet Miller. And making our little toys into safari creatures with our friends. And sharing a lot of hugs. That is all.
