Quote of the Day

DS1,

"Mama, look, I found buried treasure in the back yard!!!"

Mama,

"What is it?"

DS1,

"A gold necklace!! I think it was left by the Greeks!"

(I think he means the ancient Greeks we've been studiing...)

Quote of the day

This is one of those over and over conversations...

Dd2,

"Mama, how big is the baby, now?"

Mama, looking at bottom of blog,

"It says that it's 3 lbs and 15 inches."

Dd2,

"Hey, BABY, you're bigger than a Subway sandwich!!"

Unexpected Surprises

Normally on a rainy day, we do school and try and get some chores done. An acceptable day is when we don't annoy one another too much and get some things accomplished. A good day is when no one gets in time out and we get quite a bit done and possibly have fun in the process. (We won't talk about the bad days, right now.) Today was an EXCEPTIONAL day!

Dd2 has a special relationship with my aunt. My aunt has always been the classiest, flashiest, most driven & outgoing person I know (until I met Dd2). Several years ago she was diagnosed with cancer of the mouth and wasn't expected to ever talk again. She's worked very hard at it and hasn't let that stop her from communicating with us. Some people in the family are better at understanding her than others. Dd2 seems to understand Aunt Sue without trying. They have the same kind of spirit in them.

Several times a year, Dd2 writes Aunt Sue a letter. I try and do very little editing of the letter so it's really her own work. Today a package came from Aunt Sue to Dd2. All the other kids were so excited for her. They all commented that they never receive packages, although Aunt Sue remembers all of them when she sends something to Dd2. School came to a stand still as you can with Ds3 & Dd1 both still holding the school books they'd been working with when the surprise came!

In the package was a Jane Austin Book, Emma, because "she was homeschooled just like you" (although it will be a few years before Dd2 can read it). Candy, pencils and glue sticks for each kid and highlighter markers for me to start our school year off well! It was such an exciting surprise!! Everyone was energized. Dd2 will write Aunt Sue a thank you note and who knows what she'll say in it -- it's always an original. I'm so thrilled that Dd2 can get the kind of attention from someone who understands her to the core and that Aunt Sue can mean so much to Dd2. It's such a lovely piece of heaven for each of them!

Quote of the Week

All last week our clean laundry was in baskets in the family room waiting to be folded. Every day we heard

"I can't find any clothes!"

from multiple children.
Everyday my response was the same,

"Look in the baskets in the family room!"

I'm SERIOUSLY planning on this week not having this same conversation over and over and over -- and actually getting all the clean laundry folded!!

A "living" solar system

I'm not sure if it's because it's in our "living room" (our library) or if it's because by hanging it by thread from the ceiling the planets turn, but the kids dubbed this our "living solar system". It's not done, but we'll add to it throughout the year. We've got lots of moons to add around Jupiter and the backs of all the planets are white, so we'll take them down and have the kids color the backs as they study that planet. As you can see, Dd1 did all the work. My effort was waddling to the teacher's store to find the bulletin board set. There was a time when I resisted allowing all our living spaces to be turned into a school. Now, I'm just happy to find the right materials at the right price to turn things into a learning environment.
I know we have to move Jupiter -- I knock into it each time I try and sit on the loveseat. I'm not sure if all those planets hanging from the ceiling will drive me crazy or not. It's possible in frustration I'll rip them all down. It's also possible that the new "sticky wax" we used to hold up the strings won't do the trick. The kids think the room has been transformed and are all very excited about their new school room in space.

Quote of the Day

Daddy to Ds4 who had neglected his chores "...and pick up that Bug's Life movie, too!"
Ds4 "NO, Daddy, it's uhhhh Bug's Life. See the cover? It says A Bug's Life."
Whoever taught that kid to read, anyhow?

Night-time ritual

Our night-time ritual only indirectly involves the kids. When I'm ready for bed, after all the kiddos have been in bed for a while, Maggie, our black lab, and I go room to room to check on all the kids before I head off to bed. If I take too long in the bathroom, she'll only wait so long for me and then, she'll check on everyone herself. If a kid ends up asleep in front of their door, she'll lay down in the hall waiting for me to get the door open for her to check.

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That boy is definately cuter awake. Once he's alseep, he's also impossible to wake up. I'm sure it's his sound-sleep that makes his night-time diaper neccessary at 5.

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I never know where I'll find Dd2. She has a hard time "turning off" her mind and if she stays up just a little too long, she gets overly tired and can't get to sleep. My room is one of her favorite places, but by the time I waddle up to bed, the last thing I want to do is wake up a very sound sleeper and escort her to her room (I'm always afraid she'll fall down the stairs in her stupor). This night, I found her on her sister's floor. Sometimes I'll find her with pillow and blanket at the top of the steps -- that's pretty scary. She even paid her own allowance to decorate her room in lavendar! I think a big part of it is that she doesn't like to sleep alone, but the sister she used to share a room with DOES! She insists she doesn't want to sleep with her brothers -- but if I had a nickle for all the times I've found her in her alseep with her brother or on their floor...

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I had to climb up into the top bunk to get this picture -- quite a picture in itself! He's EASY! We say, "goodnight!" and within a very short time period, this boy is alseep. When Maggie & I check on the kids, I usually just make sure I see his foot sticking out of the rungs of his bunk to make sure he's in bed. I can't tell you how many times I'll find a kid alseep in a closet, under a desk, or some obscure place when I can't find them in their bed at night.

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Even at 11, she still can be such a little girl...sooooo sweet!! It just warms the cockles of my heart! About half the time I find her still reading at 11pm. I get really angry about that because she's hard to get up in the morning. I've told her that if she'd take responsibilty to get herself up at 7am with the rest of the kids, I probably wouldn't care how long she read. I also get frustrated having to traverse the mess (or sister) on Dd1's floor to turn off her light if she's fallen alseep reading. Dave's never said anything, but I have the same habit. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.