"Real" School

Can someone tell me why people refer to public school as "real school" when talking to/about homeschoolers? You know I'm not "pretend" schooling my kids, right?

A Blue for Her, Too!

That's our little girl with her big cow in the center of the photo in the coliseum at the Minnesota State Fair!

Dennis and Andrew rode down with my parents this morning to be there for the Dairy Show.

Linnea got a blue ribbon and is, of course, having a fun time!

This is her second trip down and Isaiah's fourth.

I'm so very proud of them both.

As a grown-up girl, I'm proud of Linnea for being so UNlike me when I was her age--

she is confident, poised, and unafraid.

They left on Wednesday morning and will be back Sunday evening.

I won't lie--I'm missing their capable hands but I'm glad they have the opportunity for some time away.

At the State Fair!

That's our tall guy in the middle

with his

BLUE RIBBON

goat!!!!

Good job, m'boy at the 

Minnesota State Fair!

(Thanks to Uncle Jeremy for sending me this picture

so I could catch a glimpse of what the kids are up to so far away from home!)

...by any other name...

The children were engaged in a conversation about nicknames.

The point wherein I entered the conversation was when Elijah asked,

"Hey Mom--does LittleBit have a nickname?"

Some Sentences

Summer is winding down.
I look forward to fall.  I think when you live in northern climates, fall is so gorgeous one can't help but look forward to it.
I look forward to the seasons wherein my flabby arms are covered by long sleeves and the sweating in unseemly places has ceased.
Linnea, Isaiah, and Andrew were each able to go to Bible Camp this summer.  Andrew is there this week and we pick him up tomorrow.  We were blessed with scholarships to make that possible.
Abram is 3 1/2 months old now.  He smiles ALL. THE. TIME.  Except when he doesn't.
I took Linnea and all the younger kids to the lake yesterday for the first time this summer.  We typically go once a week or more, so this summer has been very different.  Elizabeth is a little FISH---no fear.  Mama had some fear.
Christopher and Elijah are going to go play board games with Grandma Harriet this afternoon.  They love to do that!  I have little patience for playing or teaching board games and card games, so this is double fun for them--they get some time away for "just them" and they get to play games.  And no one is running off with or eating the pieces!  (at least not that I know of...)
Ruby and Elijah will both be in a wedding at the end of this month.  We talk about that event pretty much every day.
Maybe this kind of thing only happens with my toddlers, but now that Elizabeth can say "Daddy" (and did so probably 25 times so that I was SURE of it before posting it on facebook and on my blog), she won't say it on command by request.  She will, however, smile and shake her head no.
I've started walking again.  (I didn't really ever stop walking, what I mean is walking for exercise.)  I'm up to three miles per day. I like this.
I have the cabbage in the crockpot for supper.  This recipe from my friend Dawn is super yummy and super easy:  one head of cabbage, cut into chunks.  One pound (or more) of cooked ground beef/pork.  One jar of spaghetti sauce. Cook all day on low.  Serve over noodles or rice.  Boom.
I don't typically use trendy language much so I hope that was an appropriate use of the word boom.
Ivy pronounces computer "dumputer."
Plans for today include laundry, cooking, and cleaning.  Just like all the other 354 days of the year.

The end.

Wordless Wednesday--They Found a Bird's Nest

(checking to see if it's empty)

 (when she smiles for the camera, she does this)

She Speaks!

Elizabeth said her first word----

DADDY!!

How Do You Do It?

"How do you do it?"

I get this question asked of me all the time.

I don't know how to answer very well because what is usually implied is a mathematical equation.

If I have 2 kids and she has 10 kids, she must be 5 times as busy as I am...5 times the work...5 times the cooking...5 times as tired.

There is often a reference to how organized I must be or how well-behaved my kids must be that I keep having more.  It is assumed that I am more patient or that my husband more helpful than hers.

It just ain't so, folks.

Having more kids than you doesn't mean I'm more anything than you.

I'm a wife and a mom.

With rare exception, the person who asks me this question is a wife and a mom.

Same.

My friend Carrie posted an article today on facebook and I LOVE it.

Please go read the author's lovely way of explaining her answer to that question.

I feel like I should copy it off and hand it out to every person who asks me how I do it.

click here:  To Moms of One or Two Children