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What King Solomon Sees: Take 2
O wise King Solomon, what have your eyes beheld? Let me show you. Ah. Wise. How very apropos. The Secret Garden. Retold. I am not a fan of the re-telling of classics. I think kids deserve the original. My new Keens. All purple and rowdy. Mini pop-tarts? To steal a phrase from Hannah, aren’t pop-tarts convenient enough already? The kids touched a dissected cow’s heart on a recent field trip. That was nasty. Otto Fox has two favorite back seat books. Aesop’s Fables and A Children’s Garden of Verses. He’s advanced like that.
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homeschool this week
I have been homeschooling at least one child in our family for the past six years. It took me a long time to realize that homeschool (school at my house) did not have to resemble main stream school in any way. I didn’t have to set up desks or ring a bell or take traditional tests or teach four years of history covering only the Civil War. I didn’t need a dress code and lessons need not be fifty-two minutes in length, eight times a day. And now I am in the middle of continually realizing that my homeschool (school at my house) need not resemble anyone else’s homeschool either.…
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must. make. decision.
In case you think I have forgotten about my request for assistance in naming our family’s newest canine addition, let me assure you, I have not. You guys had some seriously wonderful suggestions. I had names sent to me through the blog, through facebook and through real face conversations. Ultimately, Kevin and I had a difficult time agreeing on a name choice. (Sort of like when we named our babies.) I pushed for Mr. Rich Man Walden and Kevin held strong for Sgt. Pepper. I feel like I should give some sort of prize to Joanna for the sheer amount of effort she poured into the idea. I guess I…
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birthday boy. otto fox wilder.
This weekend, we celebrated our adorable, exuberantly loud, youngest son’s second birthday. And his birthday present was the world’s (okay, maybe just the neighborhood’s) largest-ever sandbox. We’re talking six tons of sand, people. Six tons. Which means we were not only celebrating Fox turning two years old, but also celebrating the last day I will officially know what a sand-free home feels like. So if you are planning a visit to our home soon, bring play clothes. Because you are sure to get messy. ‘ Oh, little Wilde Fox, happy second birthday sweet man.
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justice: finn style
We have had a serious problem with ticks this summer. Just short of a plague. And the conversations in our house as we discover these creepy little creepers have been both ridiculous and hilarious. But mostly we just joke about how much we dislike them and the various methods in which we hope to destroy them. (Ticks have made us into a violent family, apparently.) I imagine this talk has affected our children as well, influencing them in ways I was not aware. Yesterday as we loitered around outside while Hannah worked tirelessly on the building of our chicken coop, Piper Finn announced her need to use the restroom facilities…
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What Would You Name This Dog?
I guess I am pretty much in love with our new puppy. I mean, I took the silly dog to the auto shop with us to have the Suburban’s oil changed last week. I don’t know why I did that. He just seemed so sad and lonely in his little puppy kennel. We are in the middle of trying to house train the wee little man. (Emphasis on the “wee”.) House training a puppy is not all that different from potty training a kid. Both activities at which I do not excel. Both requiring cloth diapers. Wait – that’s not really true. Except we are using the kids’ old cloth…
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Nothing Short of Grateful
(Thanks Avett Brothers for allowing me to once again steal a song title of yours for a post title of mine.) I owe more people favors than I could ever repay. My debt of gratitude overflows and runs amok. Pretty sure I could never even list all the people and all the ways my days and my life have been blessed by the kindness of others. Friends. Strangers. Family. Framily. You name it. I stand overwhelmed. Just in the past week alone . . . Jamal babysat five of our children so Kevin and I could attend a sports banquet with Riley. He washed the dishes. He fed the children.…
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Our Loud Return to the Library. (maybe our last. again.)
So. I avoided the library for the past five months or more. And that was pretty easy. But London Scout just won’t stop reading. And I can’t afford to buy a Judy Moody or a Magic Tree House book for her every two days. I paid the last fine (I think) and decided that yesterday would be the day Mr. Library and I tried to reacquaint ourselves with one another. Naturally I took all of our children. It was late in the afternoon. The kids behaved very well. Berg scanned the shelves for books about snakes, spiders and bats. Piper Finn played a game of giant checkers by herself. London…
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top five
For all intents and purposes, it might as well be summer already here. Once the summer staffers move in over at the lodge, it feels as if spring is gone and summer has begun. And they moved in yesterday. And that means more lodge meals and a bit less cooking. Which means that often our fridge looks a little bare. But there are a few items you can generally guarantee will be found behind the one gigantic door. Which leads me to wonder, is that true for everyone? What are the top five items in your fridge? If I was to walk in to your kitchen, say hello and then…
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no.
Otto Fox Wilder does not say a lot of words. (Which is why I was so impressed this week when he said the names of two of our family’s friends – Walter and Jamal.) But one word he does have an exceptional fondness for is the word “no”. It’s his first response for almost everything. Untitled from Lacey Keigley on Vimeo.
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the beauty of the years.
Last week on a date night we tried baked brie. It was incredible. The next day I told my friend Mandy about how delicious it was. She said, “You know that you can make that at home?” No. I did not know that I could make that at home. I mean, I guess I knew. Sort of. Can’t you make anything at home? In theory – right? So I bought the brie. I bought the pastry shell thing. I baked it at home. It was delicious. I was giddy from making my $9 appetizer for only $5.00 at home. That was cool. Last night was our weekly Wednesday Gathering. I…
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wilder.
Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, or what’s a heaven for? -Robert Browning
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welcome home.
Ever since giant, exuberant Magnus packed his dog bags and moved to our friend Chris’s Georgia farm, the kids have been requesting another pet. I have had dogs around me my entire life. Kevin and I had acquired three very beloved dogs before our second year of marriage was completed. We’re just dog people. But this time, if we were going to get a new dog, we needed to do a little more planning. I wanted a dog that was small enough to live inside so as not to run near the road or disturb our neighbors. I didn’t want dog hair all over our house. And we’re not big…
