The Inadvertent Farmer

Just a Swinging

Yesterday I assulted your sensitivities with electric-fried mice.

Today I will make up for it with one of the very simplest joys of summer and of all childhood.

No need for batteries, USB cables, or DVDs...

Nope...just pure simple fun!

An old board, some rope, an ancient tree beside a deep blue lake in the late evening sun...

Heaven on earth for a small child...

and for his mama who gets to push him!

Life is indeed good...

I am determined that this summer it will be the simple things that we relish.  No fancy water parks, no elaborate vacations, no huge parties...

Just the simple joys of being together.

In this glorious place.

Simply...

So what are your favorite simple joys of summer?

Tumulutous Tuesday

Tumultuous you say?

Yes precisely my words...

tu·mul·tu·ous (to̵̅o̅ mul′c̸ho̵̅o̅ əs, tyo̵̅o̅-, tə-; -mul′tyo̵̅o̅ əs)

adjective

1. full of or characterized by tumult; wild and noisy; uproarious
2. making a tumult
3. greatly agitated

I am all of the above.

You see we have decided to drive the oldest son down to his first job at the end of the week.  It is not in our northerly state of Washington, no not even in our next door neighbor Oregon.

Not even our southerly left coast neighbor California...nope go south and then head east one state to Nevada.

I have never been to Nevada, but my baby is moving there to live all by himself.

Working for a company I know nothing about...

Surrounded by people I know nothing about.

What if he needs me?

I'll be 3 states away!

My heart is in turmoil.  I am proud that he finished school and actually got a job in this economy.  But I do not want him to move.  His little brother and sister don't want him to move.  His grandma doesn't want him to move.  His girlfriend doesn't want him to move.

But he is leaving anyway...darn!

And on top of all of that I am rushing around like a mad woman trying to get my garden all in, getting the house all cleaned, paying all the bills because hubby has decided since we are going to Nevada we might as well make a vacation of it!

That means 7 to 10 day gone from home.

I don't do well away from home...

I'm allergic to leaving home actually.

I am not kidding. I love home...I hate leaving it.

Who will kill the slugs trying to eat my seedlings?

Who will feed all my baby critters...twice a day?

Who will get the mail?

Who will feed the camel?

Who will apologize to the tomatoes for all the rain?

Oh NO...who will blog for me?

I cannot possibly go over a week without talking to you guys?

So while I ponder these questions I will bake bread and do laundry I'll plant my peppers, feed my critters and kill some slugs...and pretend that my baby is not leaving me and that I am not leaving home for a while.

Look...problem solved!

Denial solves a multitude of difficulties!

As does chocolate...

 

Impulse buying...what it means on a Farm

Because we live on a farm my kids have a distinct advantage to other 'regular' kids when it comes to baby critters...

They know that their mother is a impulse buyer.

Not at the department store, nor at the grocery store like most folks...

No, I have little impluse control at the feed store!

Let me introduce you to my first impulse buy of the week...

Meet Ollie...he is a 6 week old Lionhead bunny.  He is as soft as you can imagine...he is adorable and I'm completely smitten.

Hi Ollie...I love you.

There was a storm blowing in when I took these pictures...Ollie is all lovely and windblown.

I do not look all lovely when I'm windblown...no I just look all disheveled and well...windblown.  How fair is that I ask!

Anyway that was the first adoption of the week.

Here is our second...

Hey Baby what ya lookin' at?

Wook mama...baby ducks!

I see, what are you gonna name them?

Bob

Bob?

Yes, Bob the builder, Muck, and Scoop!

Ahhhh I see, you know Muck and Scoop are great names for ducks because you have to do that a lot with them.

Huh?

Never mind...nice names.

This week's list

• 1 rabbit
• 1 turkey
• 5 ducklings
• 5 chicks

Yes I'm a sucker for those cute little babies they have in those troughs at the feed store!

Oh yeah...I also ordered 10 more turkeys and a few runner ducks and am planning a bigger rabbit hutch!

So they know not to ask for candy or toys but ask mama for another animal and your chance are pretty good that you'll get what you want. 

Well unless it is for a baby camel...don't need another one of those thank you very much!

Welcome to the funny farm little one...I'm sure you'll never be lonely here!

I'm over at Not Dabbling in Normal discussing girls and media and body image.

Not Me Monday Pink Ballerina Servent

This conversation never happened...

Really.

Sweetie I need you to empty the dishwasher.

I'm playing ballerina princess...princesses don't do chores.

Well I'm the queen and have signed a decree saying that all ballerina princess must do their duty to help out around the castle.

But I'm dancing.

Right now young lady!

And because she has does not have a dramatic streak this is what did not happen next...

Oh my she can turn on the waterworks!

She would of course not sit down on the floor quite indignant.

Mama I think you had kids so they could be your servants.

Honey if I didn't have kids my house would always be clean, the laundry would always be done and the dishwasher would not have to be emptied multiple times a day...

Oh...maybe we should get servents.

But darling...that is why I had kids. 

(I of course wasn't chuckling to myself by that point.)

But you said...

Just do the dishwasher!

As luck would have it, taking out my camera always brings out the silly side.

Tears were soon forgotten...

Let the silliness begin!

  
Oh yeah! 

Rock Star Princess! 

Drop.. your...sword! 

LOL...someone has watched Princess Bride one too many times!

Ninja warrior ballerina princess...with bowl on head! 

 

She ended up in such a good mood she even shared her scart with her baby brother!

Who of course did not promptly take it off and use it as a whip!

 And guess what?

Yep...the queen got her dishwasher emptied!

And they all lived happily ever after,

With the princess never again complaining about chores...

Or not!

 

Come join us to see what else we are not doing today!

 

I'm also over at Not Dabbling in Normal discussing my deep loathing for slugs...I will warn you it is not for the squeamish!

a Fever Dentist Poetry and Computer Glitches

I had big plans for today...BIG

I was going to post my top 10 very favorite, love them so much, photos of 2009.

I was going to get up early and post.

Wellllllll...

Baby Boy woke up around 10pm last night with a fever.

He was up till past 2am.

We slept on the couch till 7am when Sweet Girl got up and wanted breakfast.

I dutifully directed her to the bananas and chocolate milk....

Baby boy soon after woke up and wanted oatmeal.

I got some toothpicks and propped my eyelids open and made oatmeal...with apples and raisins no less.

I plopped the kids in front of PBS to write the post to share my photos and...

DARN...

the computer with all my pics on is acting wonky and will let me on just to kick me off.

So here we are...two days left in the year and I've go nothing.

Well I suppose I could make a little rhyme...

***

The littlest prince quite sick has he gotten

Big sister is worried and thinks its quite rotten

The queen is doing all that she can

To help with the prince...her littlest man

His fever has gotten his mood in the ditch

His mother is tired, trying hard not to...Well you know

She planned great things to accomplish today

But with a feverish boy on the couch will she stay

***

So if my kid and computer are well on the mend

I'll be right back here my photos to send

I'll share my faves from throughout the year

Camels, kids, laughter and... maybe a tear

***

So there you have it, and on top of it all...

I have a dentist appointment!

Dr. thinks I need another skin graft...

Hmmm this day just gets better and better!

I need a Silent Night

I'm not one to put videos on my blog but darn I love this song!

It speaks directly to my heart...

And I suspect it will to yours too...

"I need a silent night a Holy night to hear an angel voice

Through the chaos and the noise I need a midnight clear

A little peace right here to end this crazy day with a silent night"

I hope you are taking the time to enjoy and be thankful for the blessing in your life...

And remember that God came down and showed up...in person.

Just because He loved us so much.

Now if that isn't a reason to be thankful I don't know what is!

Not Me Monday the Bread Bandit!

This is my oven twice a week.  Two days a week my kids mill about the kitchen waiting for the bread and cinnamon rolls to be done so they can have some...

This is a little tale from one of those days...

Set up:

The bread is done and is cooling on the counter.  Baby Boy wanders in wanting a piece.  I am washing dishes in the sink not singing Christmas Carols at the top of my lungs...

Me want bread pweeze.

OK baby I'll cut you a piece.

I cut him a big piece of raisin cinnamon swirl bread and leave it on the counter I did not turn my back and go back to the dishes...Angels we have heard on high...Gloooooooooriaaaaaa....

No, I always supervise my 2 year old when he eats!

I turned around a little...much...later to check on the baby and see his slice of bread still on the counter...but the rest of the loaf is gone...

As is he!

 

I did not find him hiding around the corner with this in his hands...

The whole loaf of bread! 

 

Hey you little stinker! 

 

Wook mama...me eat whole thing!

I see that.

I cut a piece for you, its on the counter over there.  Why did you take the whole loaf?

Me want to...me big boy...me no need wittle piece.

Me need BIG piece bread!  

 

You don't need a whole loaf.

Yes me do.

No sir.

Yes mama me do...me no sir, me big boy. 

I did not let him carry around that loaf for most of the morning sharing with his sister now and then.  I did not have to sweep crumbs up all day. I certainly wouldn't let him have it at at every meal for the next two days till it was gone...no that would be silly of me. 

The moral of the story?

When you are singing Christmas Carols and doing dishes always be alert for the Bread Bandit...

You never know when he might strike!

Oh yeah...and hide the loaf! 

 

Come see what else we are NOT doing today!

 

 

 

Prefab Gingerbread House Yes I cheated!

 

Organic?...no

Homemade?...no

Vegan?...no

Whole Wheat?...no

Fun?...

Oh Yeah!

I stink at making gingerbread for gingerbread houses.  When my mother in law gave this to the kids I jumped at the chance for a break for the frustrating task of making it from scratch!

I must say that having a prefab gingerbread house did nothing to detract from the experience in the eyes of my kiddos!

Will I try it again from scratch...I'm sure I will.

But for this year...from a box is just fine by me!

So here is my question for you my crafty and creative readers...

What shortcuts are you taking this year?

Egg Nog from a carton, or perhaps a prelit tree, maybe even store bought fudge re-wrapped to look homemade?

Do tell...

Share your secrets...

Spill your guts...

Fess up...

I promise I won't tell! 

AWSH3KP5C62Q

Practicing Thankfulness...

It is so easy this time of year to make lists of things we are thankful for.

Our health, family, home, country...

Thankfulness at Thanksgiving come easily and in abundance, as it should.

Yesterday my littlest kid came into the house...my newly cleaned house mind you.

He was yelling for me to come look at something.

When I rounded the corner there he was smiling his huge two year old smile...

He was also covered from head to toe in mud.

He had left little tiny muddy boot tracks through the breezeway, past the laundry room, past the pantry, and into the middle of our family room. The doorknobs were covered with mud and there were a row of hand prints along the wall

There he stood grinning at me...

I would love to say that I knelt beside him and asked what he had made for me.

But I yelled something about not being in the house with muddy boots, scooped him up and took him outside all the while lecturing about clean floors and muddy footprints...

When I put him down on the back patio his smile was gone.

He was staring at his boots and telling me how sorry he was.

He looked at me with tears in his eyes and whispered that he had made something for me.

Ohhh little man what have I done?

I looked at those little eyes filled with tears and reached out to embrace the muddy mess that was my child.  Of course I will come see what you have made for me...

We walked to where he had obviously been playing and there was a mud mountain covered with the last of the wildflowers from our field.  It also had sticks and leaves and rocks adorning it...beautiful!

Me made mountain for you mama...pwetty mountain...BIG mountain.  You wike it?

I love it baby, thank you.

You wike fwowers on it? 

Yes they are just beautiful.

Me wuv you mama!

I love you to little man.

So I'm reminding my self with this post... I need to practice thankfulness today.

It is not about the food, it is not about the perfect house.

No it is about small things like mud mountains covered with flowers that are the things I need to remember to be thankful for. 

Soon enough he will be grown up and gone...

And then I will very much miss those tiny little mud prints on my floor.

Adoption instead of Abortion

Ok...this has been swirling around in my head for days now. Bumping against the edges of my brain and bouncing back again, like a pinball machine.

I have written this post and deleted it many times in my mind...

Going all moral, political, opinionated here on the farm blog is just not my thing. Its not what I do...its not what I'm comfortable with.

But it will not let me rest, I have some things to say and I hope someone will stick around to listen...

As you know from this last week's posts that I am a mother that has lost children and have been a mother lucky enough to adopt a child, a wonderful little girl.

I look at my sweet daughter and know all to well if it wasn't for the steadfast belief in life of her birth mother she could have very easily ended up as an abortion statistic.

My Sweet Girl had a less than 1% chance of ever being given voluntarily up for adoption...

less than 1%!

and the stats are dropping...before 1973 it was 8.7% and now it is .9%

I want to know...

How can this be?

There are so many wonderful families praying and desperately hoping for a child...willing to spend a small fortune, have every aspect of their lives examined by strangers all to have a child to love, to nurture, to raise as their own.

How is it possible that a woman would possibly think that her baby is better off dead than adopted?

I have heard all the arguments that there are against giving birth and then adopting...

 What if I give up a child to be adopted and he's abused?

I would dare say that with the rigorous screening process of adoptive parents, the hoops we have to go through, the background checks, the home visits, that the chances of a child being abused in an adoptive home are less than a biological home where you get pregnant, have a baby, take it home...no social worker no background check at all.  I am not saying it never happens but what I am saying is it is not very likely...

I could not have a child out there and not know where she was or how she was doing.

A birth mom gets to choose among many families that have all been screened by an agency or government.  They get to choose the age, race, family make up,the hobbies, the location, the religion of the home her child will be raised in.  She can choose an open adoption if she likes, one in which she gets updates or contact with the child.  This seems to negate that argument.

I do not want to go through the physical changes of pregnancy and the pain of labor and delivery.

Having delivered 6 children myself I understand this argument.  But I also know that aborting a child comes with its own unique pain that will last a lifetime.  Pregnancy and delivery pain are temporary...the other is not. 

I don't want to go through the disapproval of my family and the embarrassment of being pregnant...abortion is just easier, no one knows that way.

You know, God knows...you have a child growing within your body.  There is a unique, one of a kind human being in there...not just an extension of your body like a lung or a kidney. There will never be a child just like this ever again and this tiny baby is depending on you for its very life.  Yes abortion may in some ways be easier but life is not always about what is easy it is about what is right.  It is about being a stronger person than you thought you could be. It is about not always thinking of yourself but of someone else.  It is about giving someone one a gift that no one else can give...giving life to another living soul.

I am not here to debate pro life or pro choice...what I am really here to do is advocate for adoption. It just seems to me that it is the best solution all around.

A parent that cannot or does not want to raise a child doesn't have to...

A parent who wants a child to raise gets to...

And most importantly

A child gets to live.

A child who will get to experience life with all it laughter and tears, its sorrows and joys...all the wondrous things that life has to offer.

A win, win, win situation!

Why deviate so far from gardening and camels and such?

Why put up a post that covers a topic that is a lightening rod for controversy?

It is as simple as wanting to touch the heart of just one person, one confused or scared pregnant woman.  If I could get one mom to at least consider adoption for her unborn child.  Then I will have accomplished what I set out to do when I wrote this post...

I cannot look at my sweet girl and do any less.

 

Let's Celebrate Adoption Day!

Tomorrow November 21st is the 10th annual National Adoption Day.

This is the day we celebrate with those of us lucky enough to have been touched by this miracle.  It is also a day that nationally the courts are thrown open to finalize many adoptions especially from the foster care system. Taking kids from temporary homes to forever homes.

This is a day we have a big party for the lucky kids and the even luckier parents that have come together to form a new families all across our country...Yippee!

 

So without further ado...

Meet my Sweet Girl

She is the lone princess in a world of frogs...

 The fluffy pink cloud in a sky of blue...

A rose among 4 rowdy and thorny brothers!

The one that brings more words, tears, smiles, kisses, drama, giggles, ruffles, and sweetness to our lives than any other!

 

 Sweet Girl was adopted at birth.  She came to us through what would be described as circumstances that only God could arrange. 

As our first three sons grew older we had often talked about adoption. Yet we never took a step to pursue it formally.  My faithful husband believed that if God had a baby for us He would let us know.  I actually thought he was crazy...baby's don't just fall out of the sky, you have to go and find one, that's how it works.  He disagreed.

I had resigned myself to having only three children...

Until God did exactly what my husband said He would do...He had a baby for us.

The specific circumstances behind Sweet Girl's birth and adoption are quite amazing. But these details are not for me to share here.  This is her story to tell, not mine...so for now I will just say that God is wonderful and gracious.

We were thrilled to be receiving this gift and must admit that later when we learned that our baby was a girl we were over the moon with excitement!

A girl! A sweet little pink bundle of joy was to be ours...

The wait was excruciating!

After bearing three children I knew that the last month was the hardest but until you wait for your adopted child to be born you have no idea how hard waiting is...seriously it almost did me in!

You know God has a plan...but what if something changes?  Could I bear it? 

That is where my faithful husband stepped in and calmed my frazzled nerves and reassured me that God had it all under control. That I should have more faith...and patience!

I remember the phone call from the adoption agency so clearly..."She's in labor early, can you get a plane tonight? Hurry..."

I remember being so excited, and scared, and excited.  I threw some clothes in a bag, called the travel agency and boarded a plane to meet my new daughter.  My husband stayed behind with our sons.  I had only flown twice in my life and certainly never alone, across country.

On the runway in Nashville Tennessee waiting to take off for the last leg of my journey I got a phone call from the adoption agency.

"She's here, she's perfect...5 pounds 13 ounces...hurry!"

I burst into tears right there in my window seat or the plane.  Then proceeded to tell everyone that would listen that I had a daughter, she had just been born and I was on my way to meet her!

I got to the hospital very late that night...way past visiting hours...but with some pleading on my part and a very kind nurse I got to peek at my new daughter.  Oh she was so little laying there in the bassinet.  I couldn't wait to get my hands on her, but alas I did have to wait to the next day.

I went to the hospital early the next morning and spent that day and the next getting to know Sweet Girl's birth mom and extended family. They had all come to meet the baby and say goodbye to her before I took her home.  It was lovely if not a bit surreal...I was taking their baby with me to raise yet they were gracious and kind.

I must stop right here and mention that this tiny child was surrounded by so many that loved her.  There was joy, this child was not a secret, not an embarrassment, she was loved and celebrated.  I admit that I do not know if I could have been a selfless as these people...

And while we are being completely honest here I must admit that I was also worried...worried that I would not love this little one in the same way I loved my sons whom I had carried and loved before they were even born.  What if I never formed that same attachment?  Does one's heart know the difference between a child that is adopted and one that you give birth to?

After a tearful goodbye in the hospital I left with the baby to go back to my hotel.  I spent the rest of the day just holding this tiny new human.  I counted toes, caressed cheeks, and stroked hair.  I rocked, and walked, and nursed (yes I nursed her but it is a long story for another time).  I talked to her and sang to her and prayed for both of us.

I prayed that I would love this child with all my heart, be a good mother to her and raise her to love the Lord.

After a sleepless night with a fussy baby I sat on the end of the bed just as the sun was rising and looked down at my new daughter.  It was at that moment I knew that I fallen in love with her.  I was completely and utterly in love with this little girl...it was then that I knew that a mother's heart makes so distinction between an adopted child and a birthed child...none.

She was my daughter, I loved her, and we were in it for the long haul!

Fast forward a few weeks and we finally flew home to meet the rest of the family, all fall in love, and live happily ever after...well except for the whole camel thing!

So happy Adoption Day my Sweet Girl...I will love you forever and always, mom

So now dear readers...do you have any adoption stories to share?  We sure would love to hear them!

Its Sunday and I've got Nothing

I usually have more to say than I can put in one post...

Today I seem to have a strange and foreign lack of words.

 

Is it because it dreary, gray, wet and cold outside?

Or could it be because...

 

 I can no longer pretend this gray is actually really, really light blond?

 Or that one of my kids dropped out of college?...Again!

 The dishes that aren't doing themselves?...Darn them!

 Maybe because the camel broke the fence?...Again!

The dog ate all the pumpkins on my front porch?

Or that the laundry is multiplying?

The kids are bickering?

 I've gained 5 pounds?

AND

I have a pimple?

 

Hmmmm...could it be any of the above?

Maybe its all of the above...

Or it could be that I just talk too much and have run out of words...

 

Nahhhh...sure its not that!

 

I might run out of words but I never ever run out of photos!

So here is a preview of my pumpkin harvest...

 

 Which I will have a lot to say about next week...what kind, how many, and what I'm using them for...

Well, besides as chew toys for the dog!

 

Not Me Monday the Potty Edition

Warning...this post is not for the weak of stomach, the newly pregnant, or those with a less than strong constitution.

 Potty Adventures with my five kids...

Or what I would never do as a sane, caring, compassionate parent and wife!

Recently I did not forget to put a towel under Baby Boy as he unexpectedly fell asleep on the couch (he still wets in his sleep).  He then of course did not wet all over himself and the couch as though he had just finished off a whole liter of pop!  I tried to blot it up as best I could... but since company was coming over I knew I had no time to launder the cover on that section of the couch so I did not just flip over the damp cushion. Of course I did not spend the whole visit hoping my dear friend would stay on her side of the couch as apposed to the pee pee side.  I did not forget all about it until a few days later when I was searching through the couch for the remote control and lifted up said cushion and wondered what the stench was...I would never ever do such a thing because that would be gross!

I would never leave one of my kids with their father while potty training...because well he is not quite as long suffering as I am when it comes to this particular child rearing topic.  So one day I did not leave my #2 son with his father when he was in the midst of training to use the toilet.  As luck would have it small son did not poop in his underwear.  My husband did not show his usual compassion and take darling son outside and proceed to clean him off with the hose in the middle of the yard...with cold water!  He of course did not warn my small son that every time he pooped in his underwear from then on daddy was going to take him outside and hose him down...this particular son did not ever go in his underwear again...he really didn't!

I of course did not tell my husband that hosing a small child off outside with the hose was not what the books recommend for potty training...you were to be caring and kind and above all not become irritated.  Husband did not proceed to tell me that the books were certainly written by some...and I quote

"Pansy assed intellectuals who obviously have never raised real children...just hypothetical children."

How can one argue with logic like this???

  
 

Then there was the darling daughter that was so sensitive to smells when she was little that she would sit on the toilet while gagging the whole time when she had a bowel movement.  She never had an accident in her pants but there were times that I had to clean vomit off the floor when she was done with 'business'...

My three oldest boys would never stand around the commode and pee together to see how many bubbles they could make...and I would never stand at the door and watch the show chuckling to myself to see such a sight...well because I'm too proper for that and so are my children!

I never do a really cool 'pee-pee dance' when my children make it to the potty in time!

And lastly I would never discuss in a public forum the private trials of my potty training experience with my kids...because it just wouldn't be seemly.

Ahhhhh she didn't just say that!!!!

So now if you never visit me again on Not Me Monday I will completely understand...but I will miss you!

Friday Funnies...A Mother's Heart

When going through my simply insane amount of pictures once in a while one comes along one that simply touches my heart.

It isn't necessarily the best in technical terms.  Maybe the composition isn't perfect, maybe is isn't the most crisp of photos in the bunch.  But there is just something about it that pulls at my heartstrings.

Today this was the picture.

I played with it, making it black and white...while wiping away a tear at the profiles of my #2 and #4 sons together in brotherly love...

I cropped...

 

And even changed the orientation from vertical to horizontal...

All the while bursting with pride a these beautiful beings I had birthed and brought into the world...these lovely boys that had obviously gotten the best of my genes...

Pride goes before a fall...

Or so they say...

Because when I finished fawning over this lovely picture I scrolled down to this...

 

 

 

OK...so obviously he got some of his father's genes!

 

And although this one got my blond hair did not get his crusty nose from my side of the family...

Nope...his dad's side for sure!

Genetically, it is all a big crap shoot!

 

Or as Forrest would say

"Life's a box of chocolates...you never know what you're gonna get."

 

Happy Friday all...have a great weekend!

See ya tomorrow for Silent Saturday where you must endure my strangely random series of photos!

 

Not Me...Never

It is that time again...

Fall?  No...

Canning? No...

Painting, Sewing, Jogging...Nope, Nada, Nah!

It is...

 

Potty Training time...for the 5th and last (I'm presuming anyway) time.

But I of course being the prim and proper parent would never do this...

Meet Capitan UnderPants!

I would not send my baby to grandma's in his Cookie Monster underwear and red rubber boots...nope, would not do that, it would not be civilized!

 

He seldom goes to Grandma's without some sort of container to collect treasures in...

 

Why rubber boots when it is not raining? I hear you wondering...

It of course would not be that it is much easier to clean pee out of rubber boots than it is out of leather tennis shoes...no that would never be my reasoning...that would be just a little icky!

I of course as a parent would not worry about the amount of laundry potty training causes, therefore forgoing pants for the next month or so.  I would never be so insensitive to the tender baby legs that might get scratched on the pasture grass or any potential scraped knees...no I am a much more tender mother than that!

 

Nor would I assault the sensitives of any stray UPS driver that might meander up our dead end drive...

Bye Baby...have fun at grandma's!

Another thing that a sensible parent like I would never ever do...

I would never look at these pictures and realize that today it is potty training...

Tomorrow...College!

I would not then proceed to start to cry and have to stop posting while I composed myself...

No that is just not me...

 Oh who am I kidding?  That is just exactly like me.

Bye bye baby...mama will miss you.

Sniffff...

Come see what else we are NOT doing!

 

Not Me Monday...Yes I went to college, Why?

 
Sweet Girl and I made a great little project the other day...

We cut our wood, measured our lines and then carefully painted it with lovely pastel colors...

We then painted itty bitty numbers, taking care to not get any paint on ourselves...

We of course would not be so messy.

Yep...we're making a place value chart...

Sweet girl is learning about this in math...

The 1's place, 10's place and the 100's place 

Of course being a college educated mother this is all just kids stuff to me...

I also painstakingly put little x's on each of the number leaving the 's' in each one plain to add some artistic punch...it would certainly not be because I was tired of painting little x's...

And if any of you smart readers can see what I'm going to not be admitting to please don't let me know how fast you noticed...it would make me feel much better about myself, thank you very much...my tender ego thanks you too!

Little flowers were meticulously painted in the direct center of each column...

Meanwhile my 21 year old college student son comes in to watch, the following conversation never happened

Hey mom, what are you doing?

Making a place value chart for Sweet Girl's math lessons...cool huh?

Yeah but...

But what?

Have you looked at it...really looked at it?

Why did I mess up the paint somewhere?

Didn't you say you went to college?

Yes I did...what's with the sarcasm?

Just look at it mom and you will eventually figure it out.

He heads to the refrigerator while chuckling to himself...

I look at my little chart...

and look..

look some more...

No! I would not do that...

I slap my hand on my forehead and my son laughs out loud, Sweet Girl looks puzzled, and Baby Boy laughs just because his brother is.

No, a smart cookie like me would not get the chart backwards, I would certainly not put the hundreds where the ones go or visa versa.

I then did not have to pry all the numbers off, scrape as much glue off as I could, repaint and re-glue...I would have to do that because that would be an irritating waste of time.

I also would not realize after I was all done that the tens column actually did not have to be redone because it was correct...no, I did not remove it also.

Of course there was not evidence left on the lovely chart of my mistake...never.

 Who put that arrow there?

Of course my darling college student son would never tell his brothers about this with great amusement...no, he would not embarrass is mother like that.

Of course I did not spend all afternoon wondering what my oldest children and their lovely friend were thinking of their college educated mother... 

Because I was too busy watching Sweet Girl's soccer game...

And being cool...

In my drugstore glasses...

And my Bonne Bell over glossed lips...

I certainly could not be bothered by sarcastic older children...

 Besides...Baby Boy knows nothing about place value...

Yet!

Come visit and see what else we are NOT doing!

Note when I get the number cards done I will show the completed...and correct...place value chart to you

Because You Asked...

Favorite Word(s)…Bedtime, Bubble Bath, Book...in that exact order!

Least favorite word…No (I have a 2 year old and it is said in a defiant manner... "Nooooo" usually followed by "WAY"

Turn on…"Hey honey the kids are at grandma’s, wanna get lucky?”

Turn off…"Shhh…the kids might hear us!”

Sound I love…silence, if I can remember what it sounds like!

Sound I hate…silence, it makes me paranoid about what they are up to!

Favorite Curse word…I don’t curse, I figure it shows a lack of imagination and/or self control. It is one of my pet peeves. That and 25 items in the express lane.  I do say 'crap' once in a while...does that count?  I have 5 kids and a lot of animals, I have a lot of crap in my life, BIG crap, little crap...crap, crap, crap!!! Snort....crackin' myself up here!

Profession I would like to be…architect in a quiet corner office overlooking a lovely park adorned with a sparkling pond, with swans lazily swimming in circles, while young couples in love picnic on plaid blankets in the sun…

This is exactly why I am not an architect, I would spend all day staring out my window and would get nothing done.  Maybe I should be the grounds keeper in some lovely park with a pond, swans and couples making out!

Profession that I wouldn't like to be…preschool teacher, well teacher of any kind actually. What is ironic about this is that I homeschool…I need to ponder this point.

When I get to heaven I want to hear…"Good job all your kiddos made it too...now they can torment your for eternity!" 

Who says God doesn’t have a sense of humor?

Susan over at Blue Planet Garden Blog  and Tatiana over at Life in Cowtown asked me for a list of things that you don't know about me already.  So instead of the usual I was answering a set of questions that Katie posed over at her blog Confessions of a Young Married Couple...which by the way is the glimpse into the life of an absolutely charming young couple and their darling baby Bean!

And because I can't leave you without at least one photo...

And this one cracks me up soooo much.

Nothing like a camel looking like something out of one of the Alien movies!

If you are concerned for the safety of Fluffy the goat...here is the link to find out how this all ended!

First Day of School...Ballerina Style!

As many of you know we homeschool.

There are many reasons why we do.

But if I had to pick my favorite reason it would be this...

 

Because if Sweet Girl wants to spend all day in a tutu...

 

 

Hanging out with her beloved doll...

 

 

Hey...why not?

 

Even math is more fun in a tutu!

 

 

Wearing satin and tulle makes counting by 10's much easier...

 

 

Besides I can't even tell you how much I would miss my little ballerina if she was gone all day!

 

 

Sweet Girl...

Living life on the tips of her toes!