I'm a little Pee-pot

Big Daddy, who has a lot of amazing qualities, also has a handful of annoying ones. For example....he can aggravate you in a heart beat....but the worse part is that he doesn't let up once your aggravated. Instead he just pokes and prods until you are ready to literally RUN AWAY. FOREVER!!! This was my perdicament the other night in the kitchen when this conversation took place.

BD: Come on Babe...I'm not that BAD
Me: Oh, yes you are. Leave me alone and get out of the kitchen
BD: Really, Babe....I just want to be near you...I've missed you all day(remember this is not sweet nothings...its the aggravation game...trying to not only "get my goat" but slaughter it as well)
Me: You know honey, I've been thinking
BD: what about darlin'?
Me: I once heard on a show about self defense that if someone is trying to abduct you, that you should pee on yourself because they wont want to take you anywhere if you just peed your pants.
BD: what does that have to do with anything?
Me: Well, I am thinking about peeing my pants just so you would leave me alone and let me cook dinner.

Funny HaHa

Life around our house has been quite busy and FILLED with laughter here of late. Had to take a moment and share some of the highlights.

The Beez sang "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" last week. It went something like this..."buy me some pickles and apple jacks"

Tucking in The Snake last night almost got me a black eye. When I leaned down to kiss him, I scared him to death and he turned over swinging. I caught his clenched fist just inches from my face.

My MIL asked Crack (12yrs old...all boy) which of her perfumes he liked best. He just nodded and walked away. Later he told me about their conversation like this...."Mom, really? She wanted to know and I just shook my head. But the truth was they all smelled the same....except for one...and it smelled like butt."

Trying to convince The Beez to read me one of her new books before she went outside to ride her bikes went down like this:

Me: read this to me before you go outside

Beez: I dont want to read...that's school and its summer

Me: come on, its one of your NEW books that I just bought...PLEASE

Beez: You said that those books were for school....I want to go and ride my bike...not do school

Me: Well, you could read this ONE book and then go out and ride your bike....OR you could read all TWELVE of your new books to me....and NOT go out and ride your bike

Beez: That sounds like a THREAT!!!

Me: Guilty. Go ride your bike.

Beez: OK, I'll read just one.

Big Daddy, who has a lot of amazing qualities, also has a handful of annoying ones. For example....he can aggravate you in a heart beat....but the worse part is that he doesn't let up once your aggravated. This was my perdicament the other night in the kitchen when this conversation took place.

BD: Come on Babe...I'm not that BAD

Me: Oh, yes you are. Leave me alone and get out of the kitchen

BD: Really, Babe....I just want to be near you...I've missed you all day(remember this is not sweet nothings...its the aggravation game...trying to not only "get my goat" but slaughter it as well)

Me: You know honey, I've been thinking

BD: what about darlin'?

Me: I once heard on a show about self defense that if someone is trying to abduct you, that you should pee on yourself because they wont want to take you anywhere if you just peed your pants.

BD: what does that have to do with anything?

Me: Well, I am thinking about peeing my pants just so you would leave me alone and let me cook dinner.

Staying True: My Journey through Homeschooling

My blogging break has been wonderful. It has accomplished everything I hoped it would and I feel refreshed and energized and ready to jump back into the blogging world. Joyfully that break is over, but another one is on the horizon and school is just around the corner.
Most years I have already purchased all my curriculum by the end of the previous year so that I can have the summer to tweak it and prepare myself for the upcoming year. This year with our big NY/DC trip that didn't happen. I knew that I wanted top make some changes but the sepcifics I had not laid out yet. Then a friend offered me her curriculum from last year...Science, History and English Lit/Grammar. It was everything I would need for those subjects except for the grammar work text and I was thrilled. The amount of money she saved me was unreal and I was so thankful. She brought me all the books and I started going through them trying to figure the best way to use it and still be true to myself.
The truth is, I couldn't. I sat there and looked over this great gift and solid curriculum and I was lost. I couldn't find myself with those textbook pages, and I feared failure was on the horizon. I looked over each subject and then in defeat I prayed over them and asked for direction. And this is what I heard in the depths of my soul. "What you see as a financial gift and answer to prayer, is really your lack of faith that I will provide what I really want you to have. Be TRUE to yourself, and to your kids. I have called you to homeschool these precious children, and I will not leave you short handed"
In the span of just a moment, a mere breath within my self I suddenly felt at peace. And I reminded myself of the two things I counsel other homeshooling moms to do. First, know WHY you are homeschooling. Write it down. Remind yourself of it often. You have to know the WHY or you will get lost in the HOW. The first time someone asks you, "Why do you homeschool?" and you stutter and fumble over your answer, you will feel defeated. So know the WHY so you can succeed in the HOW. The second thing I urge other parents to do is this: Be true to yourself. Be the teacher God created YOU to be, not the teacher you see in others. You are uniquely gifted to teach your own children, your own way. This is the gift that homeschooling gives you. Instead of your child being in a group of 20-30 kids who all learn differently, but are required to learn the systems way, you have the freedom to individualize. Meet your child where they are, and bring them on the journey.
The beauty of homschooling is just that, the journey you take with your children to teach them to know God and to love knowledge. Remembering above all things, that diagramming sentences and periodic tables have nothing on the real gift you are giving your children. Hold fast to the knowledge that homeschoolings greatest gift is the beautiful relationship you are given with your children when you stay true to yourself.

In Love and Laughter, Seeking to KNOW Him

Hello world!!
I thought my blog break would only be a week or so but it quickly turned into a well needed month.
We have been super busy with summer camp, swimming, and gardening.
Oh, and welcoming a new little one. Presley Fern came 2 1/2 weeks early, but not a day too soon for her momma. She weighed a whopping 9lbs and ofcourse is beautiful.
I am hoping that I will be frequently updating now that I can do it via my iPhone. It seems that I am never on the actual computer.
Thank you too the many friends who have emailed me to check in on me...we are alive and well and just enjoying our summer and our new precious angel.

LaughingMomma

Test post from my iPhone.

Blogging Sabbatical???

It seems, without even officially planning it, that I have been on Sabbatical. And in some ways that has been VERY good(more on that later). I have missed it, but before our trip I was spending way too much time not only on my own blog...but also visiting each of your blogs. In the middle of all that, I realized I was missing out on my own life while I was enjoying yours.
That is one reason why Twitter(I'm LaughingMomma if you twitter too!!!) works well for me. I am able to capture some great family moments and times of reflection without having to immerse myself in the blog world. It of course didn't help that we had our big trip/adventure right in the middle of it all, and now summer is upon us and my baby niece Presley is about to make her grand entrance very soon, all of which have been occupying my time away from the blogosphere.
Here is a quick update on all things ALOL:
Big Daddy is going to be the BIG 40 in just a few weeks. I had a surprise party for his 35th, and I think this year we will just do a family dinner. He wants, of all things, an old fashioned ice cream maker. I am usually "anti" appliance when it comes to gift giving...after all I was the recipient of a new stove one year for Christmas....and that did go over so well. But that is a whole other post.
The Beez is READING!!!! WOO WHOO!!! All of you who homeschool can probably understand the frustration of striking out when it comes to reading. It usually starts off great with them getting short sounds and reading every three letter word around. Then when you throw them a curve ball with long sounds, multiple rules, and special sounds and they just give up. I am pleased to say that we have rounded the bases and she is now reading everything with great success.
Snake is back to his old self. Which is such a good thing. While we were on our trip
it seemed like every time we had to get on to one of the kids...it was Snake. But once we got back on Mississippi soil he was back to his flying under the radar self. On a positive "note" he has started tinkering on the piano, so we decided to start him taking lessons with my Grammy. I'll keep you posted on his progress
Crack is in the tail end of baseball. Its been a good year but admittedly, I am counting down to the final game on opening day. I love watching my kids play sports...I just hate the time it keeps us away from home. Crack also moves up to the Youth this summer, which is good in that He and Snake will be separate. But that also means that we will have twice as many activities on our calendar.
As for me, well I am just ready to grab a book and hit the pool and the lake. That is the best thing about all the kids swimming....I can actually relax instead of having to "play" the entire time. So leave me a comment with your summer reading suggestions...cause I am definitely in the market for a summer reading list.

It's Good to be Back Friends

It would be impossible to to recap our last month in just one post, so I won't even try. But I will say that our long awaited vacation was no vacation, but really a 17 day long field trip. We saw just about every monument, memorial, and museum in DC and of course hit all the big spots in NY too. We had a lovely time visiting with my Dad and his fiance Ann while in NY and then with good friends Brian and Lauri while in DC.

The trip was more than I could have imagined if I had not put all the hard work into the thing in the first place. So instead, it was everything I imagined and more. the kids were, as a whole, super troopers. The Beez only complained once about all the walking...and truthfully it was the same time we were all complaining. Walking the Mall in DC-twice- before lunch on the hottest day of the year, with hungry kids was one of the few lapses in parental judgement we made...but in the end it was all good.

I was pleasantly surprised with how much I loved NY. I especially loved Tarrytown, where my Dad and Ann live. It was not only beautiful, but cozy as well, something I thought impossible in NY. I also loved riding the Metro. Goodness, I could get use to that. And the view along the Hudson was something to behold.

As for DC, is was breathtaking. Big Daddy and I are already planning a return trip without the kiddos. the history and beauty of our blessed country was a treat in and of itself. The Smithsonian Museums left me wanting for more and yet completely satisfied as well.

I have so much more to share, and I hope to do so soon. thank you for checking in with us and I hope to catch up on your blogs as well very soon.

P.S. Cracks surgery went perfect. he has the best looking broken nose I have ever seen...you wouldn't know it if I didn't point it out to you.

Best to you and yours!!!