Top Ten... I don't want to do school!!!

Top Ten Reasons my 7year old doesn't want to do school
{Don't tell him, but he doesn't have an option}

10. "I don't waaaaaaaant tooooo!"
(if you hold it out really long the want alone becomes its own excuse)

9. "My work is harder than the little kids work." Well, yes. That's kinda how it works. Sorry!

8. "I am hungry"

7. "I am tired"

6. "My knee hurts" He uses this one a lot. Lol. It cracks me up!

5. "I don't know how to do this!" We of course have done it several times, AND I'm willing to help more, if it will become a question rather than a whine.

4. "I'm thirsty!"

3. "It's not fun!" I don't recall math ever being fun. But we sure do try!

2. "I dropped my pencil!" really? Haha! What does he think my answer to that will be? 'Oh, you dropped it? Let's cancel school then.' Yeah right.

1. "I have to go to the bathroom!" Always. Never fails. Halfway through math worksheets he gets the urge. :)

So, homeschool moms... spill the beans...
How do you get your kids excited to do school each day? Or just do it without constant whining... I'd take that.

Spontaneity!

It's been a while, my friends. I've been busy of course, but I have certainly missed this!

I "love" when plans change. Obviously by "love" I really mean the opposite. Changes to plans are something I have learned to deal with growing up as a Pastor's daughter, and now as a mommy of five... but I don't like it one bit!

Funny how I seem to have to deal with it lots, though.

Today was my husband's day off. We enjoyed the morning, doing school lessons, devotions, laundry... then he got "the call". There was a surprise inspection at his restaurant. Like, at that very moment.

So, he quickly changed & left. I was cool because those things usually take only a couple hours. Well, 3 hours later I sent him a text...

"how's it goin?"

He replies with a simple "not good", then proceeds to inform me that it wasn't their best score, and then he also got a call that their accountant just called. He was coming to do a surprise audit.

Well, with a day full of surprises, this momma knows what to do...
LEAVE!

Haha! With our day's plans of schoolwork (which was done), laundry (which was going), and projects (we needed daddy) already interrupted, I decided to be spontaneous.

"Everyone get on your shoes. Let's get in the van," I yelled!

We went to get mommy a sweet tea. Then I headed for the park!

Cheers erupted from the back seat when we approached the playground...
Except for one, not so loud moan/whine from the far back...

"aww man! You shouldn't have surprised us mommy!"

Yep. You guessed it. The 7 year old. Mr. Predictable was mad because he thought we were just driving through somewhere, so he wore his Crocs without backs, and those are
"not appropriate to play in". He uses those kind of words. Like a disgruntled old man.

Well, despite the gray cloud residing above his head, we played.
We swung on EVERY swing.
We climbed EVERY wall.
We chased EVERY squirrel.
We slid down EVERY slide.

Somewhere amidst the sliding. That was when I realized.
We are coming to the park after it rained all night...

As I was about to yell out "watch out for water at the bottom!!!", my 6 year old went down a short, deep toddler slide.
You know, the ones made for a 2 year old, so they don't fly off at the bottom or dive over the edges. You can only imagine the puddle she ran into. It was more like a water slide at Six Flags! Her backside was SOAKED!

Well, you don't have to tell Mr. 4 year old twice. He made it his goal to find EVERY puddle on that playground. And he did. He was now soaked as well, and they began to splash each other.

At this point there was both screaming AND running taking place. So I pulled that plug, and we went for a walk. That would settle things down for sure.

Ha! NOPE!

They raced to every tree. (Funny how the 7 year old can now run in his "inappropriate" footwear when his brother is going to beat him)

Somewhere near the top of a rather large hill, something came over my 4 year old. He got a look in his eye.

I've learned 2 things about this look:
1. You can't stop him when it happens
2. It usually is pretty funny, even though it makes me nervous.

So, I didn't hold him back. I don't think I could've. He first started running full speed down this huge hill. Then he ran back up & I saw the look again.

Not only did he proceed to go back down this muddy, sopping wet hill. He was now ROLLING down. As his little body thumped & spiraled down, I heard nothing but giggles. Then as he approaches the bottom, I'm of course laughing as I have {Princess Bride} flashbacks. He runs to me & yells "Mommy! I just LOVE hills!"

This was the moment. It made the whole afternoon worth while to watch him roll down that hill... as my girls are giggling at him, the baby is clapping his hands, and the 7year old is fretting about safety precautions that aren't even on his free-spirited brother's radar! Now THAT is spontaneity.

We headed back to the car, and I let him slide "one last time" while I buckled everyone else in. As I called him over, I looked up just in time to see my child, DRINKING THE WATER from the bottom of a slide. Uh-huh! That's what I said. He DRANK IT... like an animal.

This is the story of my life. Plans changing, kids running, gray clouds, then a burst of sunshine, followed by an event that makes me question my parenting skills. Haha! There are worse things, I guess. I love it all!

As I buckled him in, I asked why he did that. "I was so thirsty after rolling down the hill!... "

Makes sense!

Have a great rest of the week, mommas! May your children be both predictable & spontaneous... making you love every moment of it!

Here we go again...

Just when I think I'm super mom...

Just when I think I've got such well-behaved children...

Just when I think I've figured stuff out...

We hit a new stage.

This past week, that stage has included:
• baby eating MANY non-edible items that would make you cringe
• baby learning to crawl up the stairs
• baby learning that there's stuff INSIDE the toilet
• baby finding where mommy keeps diapers
• baby discovering where the trash cans are
• baby figuring out how to bite a hole in his sippy cup
• baby learning how to dump all water from said cup through said hole
• baby giving up his beloved 3rd evening nap that used to give us time to make dinner
• baby's schedule adjusting around the newly missing nap
• baby eating dropped dinner off the floor when mommy trips over baby that crawled behind her feet

... does anyone else see a trend? That sweet, sweet, precious baby!
How can a 10month old cause so much damage?!?!

I apparently am getting out of "baby" stage and quickly entering "toddler" stage. He's still only crawling, thank goodness! But walking is soon to come.

Don't misunderstand me either- he is as sweet as they come! I just have to re-adjust! Isn't that what parenting is about though? Constantly re-adjusting to your children's ages, stages & development.

Whether or not that's normal for a parent... It's still exhausting! So on that note, I'm off to have a date with my husband.
We're watching a movie while we fold laundry. I'm just livin on the edge, my friends... Livin on the edge! :)

Tardy!!!!!

Can I just get real with y'all?

I am always late. ALWAYS.

No matter how hard I try...
somebody always poops as I'm tying kids' shoes necessitating a diaper change...
or the baby spits up all over himself so I have to search the mounds of laundry for a new outfit...
Or I just can't get it all together in time: the kids, the shoes, the jackets, the stuff, the breakfast, the coffee, the keys, & everything else!

I mean, I was never one of those "15 minutes early" kinda people. I have always been a last minute person. I always got to school AS the bell was ringing, but still had to get to my locker & the classroom. You know...

But each child has added 5 minutes to my late-ness. It is expected for me to be 10-15 minutes late, common for me to be 15-20 minutes late, and if we're being REALLY honest... It is not unheard of for me to be 30-45 minutes late!
Thank God we homeschool or my poor kids would be missing recess for tardiness!

You know what I really hate? The random day I'm gonna be really close to on time... & I get stuck behind the schoolbus that stops every 3 streets, letting what seems like 500 really slow children off the bus... or there is a tractor driving down the highway (yes, happened last week) & I can't get over... Hate that!

I set clothes out the night before. I often pack bags the night before. I wake up with plenty of time. I never plan anything before 9:30am, because that's just asking for it. And I usually set our clocks 10 minutes fast to trick myself.

I don't have an answer... I'm not sure if there is one. I'm just being real, and today I was 20 minutes late to a chiropractor appointment. They weren't surprised.

A long week...

Well, it's been quite a long couple of weeks. It feels like when one child has a rough week... they all adopt a rough week!
We've had non-nappers, tummy troubled toddlers, hair cutters, party planners & teeth sprouters... not to mention our grammy broke her foot... so this momma has been surviving on caffeine & string cheese!

Haha! Do you moms do that? I sometimes get to the end of a day & realized I've had granola bars, string cheese, a lot of coffee, and an apple. So I load up on water & calories half-way through the day. It's terrible!!

I wish there were a way to keep moving throughout a busy day, yet still have hugged every child, read to them, nursed the baby, and YES, eaten 3 full meals plus snacks for a nursing momma! It's exhausting trying to fit it all in!

Our new "schedule" is maintaining the bare minimum, but I have so much more that I would love to fit into a day!! There just aren't enough hours!

I guess that means the fall baking, crafts, and extra school stuff is out... because I'm not about to sacrifice those hugs. Maybe a meal, but never a hug!! :)

Good luck in your upcoming week mommas! Personally, I have TONS of laundry I'm behind on, my own momma in a cast for the next 8weeks & a huge list for an "American Girl Spa" party I'm giving my soon to be 6 year old for her birthday! It's gonna be a wild week... bring it on!!

Top Ten List... BACK TO SCHOOL

Top Ten
BACK TO SCHOOL edition

We started back to school last Tuesday. I really liked having a real summer "break" & then making a big deal out of the FIRST DAY back to school! My oldest really needs that. So, here are the top ten things I LOVE about going back to school...

10. First Day of School Pictures
Usually I make them all stand outside or doing something cute... this year we did a chalkboard. I wrote their grade & what they want to be when they grow up.

9. My 4 year olds answer to "what do you want to be when you grow up?"... a cheetah. Or a lion. He just couldn't decide & no matter what his big brother said about how "humans cannot become animals", he was still convinced of this as an actual possibility! :)

8. New school supplies. You know on the movie "You've Got Mail" when Meg Ryan's character talks about her love for fall & receiving "a bouquet of freshly sharpened pencils"? Well, I have a similar love. Sharpened pencils, notebooks, crayons, glue sticks, OH MY! I can't get enough! And mom, I'm really sorry but... I still sorta want a new backpack every year.

7. Classroom rules. Basically these are normal, household rules with a large family. I add on "raise your hand". Trust me, when our lessons get interesting, there are more comments & questions than I can handle. Hand raising is a must, even if you do go to school in your kitchen!

6. Our new curriculum!!!! I am in love with SONLIGHT! My little readers can't get enough of this literature based curriculum. No more workbooks. No more busy work. Real history & Bible lessons. And the best part? Instructor Guides all ready done for me!!!! Again I say... I'm in love!

5. Memory verses. It takes me back to my days in Christian Elementary School. I still know most of those verses by heart! :)

4. Using "school" as a reason for my oldest to finish filling out thank you notes... handwriting assignment!

3. My children are exhausted every night now! Brain exercise is amazing...

2. Crockpot meals are saving my life!

{check out my original post of freezer/crockpot meals here: http://www.laundryeveryday.blogspot.com/2012/08/freezer-meals.html?m=1

1. I really do enjoy teaching my little ones things about History, Bible, Language (my fav) & Science... Math not so much, but that's why we have daddy, right?! ;)

PRETTY COLORS!

I thought I'd share my secret to keeping my kids (& their stuff) straight! COLOR-CODING has saved my life.

Each family member (me & daddy included) has a color. We have our color in everything...
CUPS
PLATES
JACKETS
HATS & GLOVES
SCHOOL SUPPLIES
BAGS
TOWELS
TOOTHBRUSHES
LAUNDRY HAMPERS
SOCKS
(sometimes even clothing or other things)

I am even able to color-code the columns on our "Today I Ate A Rainbow" charts & our daily schedules.

It might sound like over-kill, but when I see a blue towel on the floor... I know whose it is (& who needs a little more training)! When ladybug can't find her jacket, we know we're looking for pink! It REALLY helps the smaller children. They see "their color" everywhere & feel a responsibility for it!

...I see "their colors" everywhere & want to buy each one! Haha! Anytime I see things with color options in {green, purple, blue, pink ,orange} I have to have it! ;)

What things help you mommas? Do you have any tricks that help you keep track of things??