Keiglets
The littlest birds sing the prettiest songs.
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I-95: I Am Your Pupil
Last Friday five of my children and I spent basically an entire day inside the confines of our Suburban. (Berg was the missing Keiglet. He’s spending another Boys Only visit with Aunt Emma & Co.) It was a very long day. (Can you say that sentence slowly and with emphasis and while heaving a heavy sigh?) But the trip was not in vain. (Well, of course it was not in vain. We needed to get from Tallahassee to South Carolina and our choice was to live in Florida forever or to drive home.) This is what Florida to South Carolina on I-95 taught me. 1. Sean Kingston and Justin Bieber’s ridiculous…
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it sure is a good thing
This is what London said to me once . . . “Mom. It sure is a good thing you have so many kids. They can help you do all these chores.” What I thought but did not say in response – Yeah. That’s right, London. And the reason I have all these chores is because I have all these kids. I did not say that. I did not say that because six-year-old children do not generally interpret sarcasm well. But maybe, just maybe, that little London gal is on to something after all. Here’s two ways I think I can secretly (well, not now, of course) get away with using…
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what a long, strange trip it’s been. emphasis on the “long”.
It seems we like adventure lately. Or something like that. And I guess it wasn’t enough to drive three hours into the mountains of Georgia last week with five young children. Nope. Not enough. I am a glutton for punishment I suppose. I threw in one more kid (totaling six, in case you’re counting) and tossed in about triple the drive time and we all headed to Florida. Let me break the trip down for you into easily digestible categories and lists. The Miracle On a nine-plus hour trip no one had to stop for an unscheduled bathroom break. No one. Not one of the seven passengers requested the bathroom. …
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a fairytale
Once upon a time (about four days ago) we embarked upon an epic journey. (We drove to Georgia.) Where we stayed with two princesses (Lindsey and Rachael) in their castle (an apartment with the red door that matched the other twenty-five red doors). Our chariot (a scruffed up maroon Suburban) lead us to a raging river (a pleasant, wide stream) where we discovered the fountain of youth (a refreshing place to splash and play). After we partook of the fountain and gained our eternal youth (splashed until we were soaking wet from head to toe and all felt like kids), we traversed through many perils and obstacles (sink holes, deeper water…
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This Is A True Story
Sometimes I am convinced that my children are actually better people than me. Kinder than I am. More compassionate. Speedier in love and more perceptive. For example . . . It had been a long day. Long. And I was home trying to get the younger kids corralled after soccer practice. Riley was hanging out with friends. Kevin was working. I was trying to feed Wilder his last bottle before bed. Finn was dumping rubber stamps on the floor and spilling blue ink. Bergen was sitting on the red chest trying to remove his cleats. Mosely had already removed her cleats and wanted to put them away in the red…
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Soccer – Let the Games Begin!
The season has started. In all its glory. (Okay, there really is not much glory – but the kids sure look cute in their uniforms, Riley is a great assistant coach and Piper is a pretty effective cheerleader.) We’re just at the beginning of the season but it’s funny already. There’s the I-expected-this-but-not-from-you – Hawkeye. He pretty much just wants to drink the water from his cool new officially-sanctioned-by-his-soccer-team water bottle. “Berg, don’t you want to play?” I ask. He answers, “Mommy, I think you should write my whole name, B-E-R-G-E-N, on my water bottle instead of just the B you already wrote.” While everyone is running after the ball…
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And Then The Cousins Came
We have been a busy little family. (“Little” is a word left open to personal interpretation.) After swinging a lot and enjoying Beth and her beautiful girls for a too-short visit I received a crazy little e-mail. It said something about a surprise and the name of our town and it was sent to me from my cousin Sherry. (Sherry was the flower girl in my parent’s wedding. I was the flower girl in Sherry and Willy’s wedding. Their daughter was the flower girl in mine and Kevin’s wedding. And we have plenty-o-daughters to be the flower girl in her Amber’s wedding.) But back to the e-mail. I don’t think…
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A Rite of Passage
Can it really be called a childhood if it does not involve a swing made of rope over a little creek?
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Next Subject – Science
You’ve already read about the routine. You know we eat scrambled eggs every Wednesday morning and that on Fridays we bake together. Pretty soon any number of you could run my household – more smoothly and efficiently than I myself can. (Ahhh, Master Plan is progressing nicely. Cue sinister soundtrack.) During my few years of homeschooling I have discovered that I really have to diligently schedule the subjects that I would gloss right over. (You know, I never have to remind myself to read to the kids or to listen to great music with them or to draw a daffodil or to paint a picture.) So around here –…
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Receiving Good Gifts: Part I
It’s fun to do things for other people. Mosely and I made my mom’s Snickerdoodle recipe this week. (The recipe card is actually in her handwriting. I like using that card.) And when we were done baking, Mosely wanted to give all of our cookies away. To Mandy and Jody and Nate and Lanier and Greg Boone and the guys who were cutting a tree down in our yard right then – Ben and Jim. So she put cookies in two cups and carried them to Ben and Jim. And she bagged some cookies for Nate and Lanier. (Apologies Mandy, Jody and Greg – not sure I remembered to follow…
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Capable
There’s just something about a tiny baby’s hands – isn’t there? They just look adorable. Sometimes they’re kind of wrinkly and even a little peely. (I just coined that word. For the record.) Honestly, as cute as they are though, and as much as I love to kiss them and admire them, they really can’t accomplish much early on. They only grasp what you place in them and they don’t even work really well in unison with one another just yet. But, man. You just blink a couple hundred times or so and those mini hands morph into something else entirely. I’ve been noticing the hands of my “bigger” kids…
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Sometimes It Looks Like This
Homeschool looks different in every house. (At least, I assume it does. I have not personally been at every homeschool house – right?) Some days it looks pretty normal. And I like that. And there are other days. Days when I like homeschool less because of what my children are learning and more because of how they are learning. And with whom. And, like life, some days get a little rowdy. A little out of control. But I kind of like that too. And finally, there are some moments in some days that just make me laugh.
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She’s So Lucky
This happened this afternoon. I don’t have to make this stuff up. (I just have to remember to write it down.) The day was beautiful. Dry. Sunny. Moderate temperature. London, Mosely and Berg were playing outside. I heard crying at the door and went to investigate. The Crying One was London. When I asked her why she was crying, this is what she said . . . “It’s just that Mosely already caught one moth and now she found a worm. And she’s just sooo lucky today and she won’t share any of them!”
