I am children's books snob

I admit it. I have read a few books to my kids (*hundreds*) and a lot of them are just not worth my time. I am to the point now that if I don't like the book I get rid of it-donate or even throwaway (gasp!) I am not sure how to describe the books I like. I like books that are not insulting to my child's intelligence. I like books with great art-all different kinds of art. I especially like books that have a moral to them because you are reading you might as well get some character development in there too. I like books that are fun to read (but I am not a huge fan of Dr. Seuss).

So, here is a list of books we have read lately that I just like:

Mailing May
Higgin's Bend Song and Dance
The Salamander Room
Roxaboxen
Click Clack Moo, Cows that Type
The Bee Tree
The Raft
Petunia

So, what did you do all day?

I spent the day shopping. It isn't as exciting as it sounds. First I had to organize all the homeschool books, workbooks, binders, CDs, tapes...then I hit the books--the catalogs to order the curriculum for the upcoming year. 5 of them have school this next year. The last is a toddler that will make schooling 5 of them very interesting. The older 3 will be studying World History. #4 and 5 will be studying world cultures and learning to read. Wow. Probably by Christmas I will have taught 5 of my children to read. (They are both really ready and have been begging to learn to read.) Now to work on the routine and schedule.

We have been sick, sick, sick

Well make that 8 sicks-cause we all have it. I am not sure exactly what IT is but we were exposed to Hand, Foot, Mouth disease and we have some of the symptoms plus yucky noses. Back to the couch.

Simple Math

A Brother
PLUS
Scissors
EQUALS
a bunch of hair,
a sister with a bob
and a bald head.

He's a reader

Third Harry Potter book in a week. He came up for food every now and then.

Here Stacie

We were talking today and I mentioned blurb.com. You can download your blog and have a book printed. http://www.blurb.com/create/book/blogbook Great way to solve journalling angst. and scrapbooking.

My Dear Last Baby,

You are a ferocious, fuzzhead, fireball. You are curious and busy but we wouldn't know what to do with a non-busy baby. You love your brothers, especially #2. They make you laugh and you make them laugh. We are so glad to have you in our family. We love your little chirps and your signs. You are climbing. You adore mandarin oranges and bananas. Yes, it was a sacrifice getting you here but I knew the moment the nurse laid you in my arms it was all worth it. And it has been.


Love-Your Mama

Look who is ONE.

ahem, have you seen this?

http://www.007.com/

just wondering...

raisinettes in the popcorn? or milk duds?

patches patches and more PATCHES

Boy Scout uniform day...

#1, #2, #3 and DH all needed shirts. Old ones torn off, new ones shopped for and sewn on.

Four shirts done. Hallelujah.

For the first time ever too!

I have been tagged.--THE FIVE

10 years ago I:

1. was renovating our first house

2. had a 3 year old and a 1 1/2 year old-and still nursing both-see pictures aren't they cute!

3. had no kitchen or walls in the house (really, we were living out of 2 finished bedrooms, eating on a card table and cooking on a Coleman stove, doing dishes in the bathtub--ahhhh, the memories)

4. was working in the Young Women's organization

5. learned that some contracters are just plain ole crooks

5 things on today's "to do" list:

1. clean the kitchen-done

2. bring Aubrey and Danielle to the bus stop

3. reserve books at the library for school next week

4. order my birthday present

5. vacuum house-half done

5 snacks I enjoy:

1. tomato sandwiches-toast wheat bread, real mayo, slice of fresh tomato, salt

2. popcorn

3. grapes

4. tootsie rolls

5. smokehouse almonds

5 things I would do if I were a millionaire:

1. pay off the house and put in the kitchen I need

2. start a private school in the area something to promote the principles on which our country was founded, religion included with academic rigor, more of a mentoring type of school

3. finish schooling-at least fund it for me and the children

4. scuba dive the Great Barrier reef

5. buy new underwear for me, my mom and sister (inside joke)

5 places I have lived:

1. The Upper Peninsula of Michigan, eh!

2. Marion, Alabama

3. Minneapolis, Minnesota

4. Richardson, Texas

5. Orem, Utah

5 jobs I have had:

1. delivering and making pizza

2. executive secretary for a non-profit organization

3. marketing administrative assistant

4. bossing around men in uniform

5. M.O.M.-Mom Of Many

Update on Baa Ram Ewe

Ever since #1 told me about trying out the sheep password I was dying to ask him a couple questions. I have learned as a mother there are sometimes you don't ask right away. I can get more information out of them if I just play it cool and wait a couple days. Anyway, we were playing Apples to Apples (Aubrey and Danielle are here for a long weekend) and my opportunity came.

Me: "So did you actually say the sheep password to the sheep? Did you wait until Dale and #2 weren't around or what?"
#1: "Yah. I tried it twice and it didn't work."

Guess who pipes up?

#2: "Well I waited until both of them weren't around and I tried it four times. It didn't work either."

Neither of them knew the other was trying out the sheep password on the sheep and BOTH of them tried multiple times. I am sticking with childhood innocence...

The Boy Room

A before and after-

The room is long and skinny and the only saving grace is the 4 dormers are exactly 39 inches wide. Just wide enough to fit a twin mattress. All 4 boys are sharing this room. There is lots of sunlight. Each of them has a dormer with a window. Each has a desk and their bed is set on wheat buckets so there is enough clearance to go under and hide. #2 asked for a little led light to stick on the underside of his bed for the "perfect reading spot." Each boy also has a curtain to close off the dormer for some privacy. I made those out of matching flat bed sheets and tension rods. Nothing fancy but each boy has their own desk, bed, storage underneath the bed and a shelf over the desk. Maybe when they stop ruining things I will buy furniture but of course by then they will be on their missions, right?

Just a reminder to myself

“When God wants a great work done in the world, or a great wrong righted, he goes about it in a very unusual way. He doesn’t stir up his earthquakes or send forth his thunderbolts. Instead he has a helpless baby born, perhaps in a simple home and of some obscure mother. And then God puts the idea into the mother’s heart and she puts it into the baby’s mind. And then God waits. The greatest forces in the world are not the earthquakes and thunderbolts. The greates forces in the world are babies. And greater than the babies are the mothers who give them life and mold their thoughts and set their higheste ideals. The hand that rocks the cradle is truly the hand that rules the world.” E.T. Sullivan “The Way to Peace,” p. 258

Note to self: suck it up Buttercup! It is bigger than you think.

As of right now

I am eating Hagen Daz out of the container and really understanding why some species eat their young.

A funny from #1

I know! #1???



We were visiting our neighbors last night. They have 2 sheep-a black wethered male and an ewe. This morning as I am shoveling yogurt into the baby I ask #1 what he thought was cool about last night. Here is the conversation:



Me: "So what did you think was cool last night?"

#1:"Well, I am not really an animal person yet."

Me: "Oh."

#1: "The dog. I think we should get a dog."

Me: "Well, we'll have to think about it but housetraining a puppy can be a lot of work."

#2 stumbles in bleary eyed.

Me: "So what did you think was cool last night?"

#2: "Going to bed."

#1 looks over at me quite seriously and says: "Well. Baa Ram Ewe does not work." and walks away.

Remember the movie "Babe"? what I would give to have seen my eldest son looking those sheep in the face and seeing if the sheep password would really work. Although 6 feet tall-there is still a young heart in that boy.

Met a Neighbor

They have 40 acres, bees, a cow, a goat, 2 sheep, chickens, ducks, gardens and ONE boy close to #2's age. Could be a match made in heaven...