Feel the Love

A homeschooling photo essay. Photos by the queen. Essay by Princess #1.

Not loved sincerely P#1

Kinda loved bye P#1

Loved greatly sincerely P#1

Today her doodling took on a purpose . . . to relieve the day's angst!

Thankfully by the third worksheet life was back to being good again.

Mama's Little Helper

Overheard at the dinner table . . .

King: So how did you help Mama set up at MOPS today?

Princess #2: I helped get all the other kids in trouble.

Words of truth--'nough said!

An Ah-Ha Moment

So tonight I had an "ah-ha" moment. You know, the moment when the stars align and everything makes sense again. Let me explain . . . I struggle with keeping my house clean and picked up. No sooner do the toys get picked up in order for me to vacuum or walk through without tripping, that they are dumped out again! It feels like I am always getting after the girls to clean up when you're done or could you please put that away. Well, no longer! I have discovered tonight that I should have been getting after Captain Marbles!

Princess #3 turned him in tonight. After reminding the littlest Princess to please leave toys in the family room tonight (we are hosting Bible study), she informed me that it wasn't her doing the dumping and dropping, but someone else was responsible. It was a relief to know that it was someone else--none other than Capt. Marbles. I knew that there was no way that three girls could make all the messes I continually find. . .

Princess #3 is 3!

My baby's three. THREE. three. And she loved having her birthday all to herself and reveled in "her" day! She tore through her presents not taking time to savor the gift, but instead savoring the delicious sounds of paper ripping and hearing that yes, she could indeed open all of them with no waiting her turn! Once she got through the business of opening, she turned back to see her loot which some of us were furiously "un-twisty-tying" trying to beat the crazy pace she was setting for us. And we lost her to the goodies for the rest of the afternoon.

It's been a ride this past year, especially the past six months with this little girl. But it's been good (in retrospect and great b.c. ifyouknowwhattamean) and it's been good to watch her come into her own a bit more and blossom into a little girl. She has quite the vocab and quite the memory. And quite the strong will at times. But the softest heart and servant's heart once that will has bent. She is the only one of the bunch who after throwing a humungous baby-fit, will then almost immediately afterwards ask for forgiveness. A skill I marvel at and need to cultivate in my own life. So anyway, my dear baby is three and I am looking forward to what this new year in her life brings.

Sassafras

Sass, sass, nothing but sassafras around the castle these days. The "I don't wanna's" are out in full force no matter what the topic. It's frustrating to try and maintain control (I do run a benevolent dictatorship here, you know), when all you hear all day are disparaging remarks. Rest assured, I will think of some torture to get the princess' to toe the line consistently, that's what dictators do. The trick is hiding the fact that it's torture (quite honestly more so for the dictator) and getting the girls to believe that obeying the first time, eating meals, doing school, going potty w/o help, getting along w/eachother, etc. are all things that they want to do!

It's that time of year when everyone gets a little stir-crazy and sick of one other. I just wish that they would clue in that the big people are feeling that way too and give a little break. I really hate being the "bad" guy all day long, the spoiler of fun, the enforcer of school, the one who likes a tiny path to walk through the family room . . .

Anyway, enough complaining. The sun was out enough this afternoon to make a beautiful rainbow, and the oldest princess reminded us that it was God's reminder of a promise made long ago and the youngest proclaimed it a "miracle". And since He always keeps His promises, I can rest in the fact that there is nothing I will go through that is too difficult with Him along for the ride-even slogging through that ever growing Mount Barbie that takes root in my path to the kitchen!

Knitty Photos

Here are some photos of some of the finished projects . . . if you roll your mouse over each picture & give a click, a caption should appear (no money back guarantees though!).

One More Benefit of Homeschooling

Flurries of homeschooling posts here lately. I guess it's due to trying to get back into the routine of things after Christmas, MOPS, and all the New Year hoopla. Today Princess #2 decided that she needed to wear "glasses" aka swim goggles that she found who knows where, not in the swimming lesson bag, of that I am sure! Anyway, if I was sending her to school, I know for a fact that I would have had to deal with (what we fondly call) a baby fit when I would have told her that the goggles needed to stay home. However, since she is homeschooled, I could say sounds fine to me, and when the novelty wore off, I could gloat in my own private victory dance to the tune of "I told you so".

A Little Humor

As most of you know, I'm a homeschoolin' mama. We have our "yay for school days" and our moany groany, I hate learning and always want to be in (insert grade level of choice) grade. And you just have to roll with it.

Today was a moany groany, waily, gnashy of teeth kind of school day with both school-age princess' dishing out quite a bit of sass. I cracked open another can of my preferred carbonated drug of choice and dug in my heels. And school happened. I am the queen, remember?!

However, later on this afternoon while chatting with one of my sisters, Princess #2 announces that she has a joke. So I thought I'd share it . . .

Q: "What school teaches lots of math?"

A: "Homeschool"

Can you guess her favorite subject???

He's Taken

I married the last good one I am convinced. Right now he is on his second of three consecutive nights out shopping for me! Yesterday he decided that he would take each of the girls out individually to shop for mama, so he called Princess #2 and asked her out yesterday. And today he called Princess #1 and asked her out to shop even though, as she has repeatedly reminded him, she already made me something. And tomorrow he'll repeat with Princess #3.



Am I spoiled or what? And he's mine all mine! I think it's time for a "kissing party"! Tee hee!

Obsession

You know you're obsessed with knitting when you tell your kids "as soon as I finish this row, it's time for bed". . .
and they reply with: "How many stitches are in your row?"

More to update with you later. The post-Thanksgiving weeks have been dark for me here at the castle. But I am encouraged by the reminder of why we celebrate Christmas--His birth brought to life a light that changed my life!

A Glossary--Of Sorts

So I have a few new definitions to share with you that you may have been unaware of . . .

Kissing Party: We used to call it "playing cards", my parents called it necking, but Princess #1 coined this phrase over the weekend. As in: "Mom and Dad I'll do the dishes and clear the table so you guys can have a kissing party upstairs with privacy instead of in the family room." Rest assured our kissing parties are pretty tame, and usually include much leg-pulling by the princess' as they clamor to be included in the smoochin'!

Sunset: This is when the sun has to hide and change into it's pajamas because it's night time--thank Princess #3 for that creative one!

154: According to Princess #2, 154 is a lot of something. I personally use the phrase "50 bizillion", but she likes hers. Like when I told her that we weren't getting another cat, and she replied with "when I'm a grown up I'm going to have 154 kittens!" (said with the "so there" kind of tone!!)

Nothing But Knitting

Lest you think I have abandoned my current fav hobby, I post these pictures in proof. Unfortunately, you'll have til wait until after a certain December holiday for a glimpse of ALL the finished projects. I finished all my Christmas knitted gifts up and am on to a fun "Jack Frost" sweater for the youngest Princess. Thankfully she's down with pink even though right now orange would probably be her first pick!

Handwarmers for every princess!!

A dark purple ear-flap hat! She

really really wanted orange yarn, and

continues to mention the "orange hat",

so I will probably be making another

one of these!

A little purse for a sweet friend's b-day!

It's turquoise and cabled w/a black gingham ribbon.

Bless the Fates

So I hate the door to door salespeople that always seem to come right at nap time, school time, mealtime, or any other time that is inconvenient--and then they won't leave unless you're rude and then they have the audacity to be angry and put-out by your rudeness. Backing off the soap-box now.

So, today we're finishing up school and since I had heard the mail-lady a few minutes earlier, I told the girls I was heading out to collect the mail. I open the door just as one of the previously described salesman was about to knock, scaring the pants off of him and jumper off of me! I squawked, not only because of his unexpected presence, but also because at that same moment a huge "Gloria"* spider decided to descend right in front of me. I shut the door and whipped off my shoe and took care of the little pest. Meanwhile, I can hear the big pest gasping and laughing maniacally in my front yard. I opened the door and watched him try to catch his breath. He told me he had never been so scared in his life. (Yes, I have that affect on people--handy huh??) He then left with just handing me a brochure and not the sales pitch!! Hooray!


*Gloria was a pet spider I had from waaaaay back. One of those big black fuzzy ones with the white spots on their back. I kept her alive for a really long time (even caught live flies to sustain her), and then left her jar in the sun while on a trip to McD's and effectively baked her. Horrific then that I was a spider-murderer, horrific now that I actually had a pet spider. How's that for TMI??

What Can I Say?

It's been almost a month since I last blogged and every time I think of something to write about and then find time to write about it, I can't remember what it was. So there you go.



We've actually had an eventful September. We had the wonderful priviledge of seeing our nation's capitol and two of my sisters, and their families. The visit wasn't nearly long enough, but it was amazing and so much fun.



So anyway, here are some pictures from our trip and I will try and get more "with it" and get some real posting done.

A Case of the Blahs

While being the good parent that I am, and trying to sort out yet another fight amongst the princess', I hear this side of the story.

Queen: Okay, tell me why you're upset.

Princess #2 (with voice raised, and vein protruding from her little neck): Because I'm trying to set up my Sweet Streets and this BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH keeps sitting in my spot!!

So that sums it up, a direct quote. All I have to add is I'm glad she left the 5 year old swear words out and just used some "blah blah blahs" instead. I could learn from that.

It Never Fails

You get done with all the vacuuming (at one time!!) and as you are tucking the vacuum away, thinking proudly to yourself "wow, I actually got something done today", you see it. That tiny round, purple piece of guinea pig cage stuffing. The one that got away. ARGH!

Giggles

We have slowly begun school up again, just a few days last week and probably a few this week (if the girls are still alive--something for another day when I find my life humorous again). Most of the beginning of school for Princess #1 is a lot of review, so she's breezing through it.

Anyway, yesterday, she was working through her seatwork and all of a sudden got the giggles. And if you've heard her spontaneous giggle, you know it's very catching. So soon all four of us are laughing without really knowing why. Then she says, "I had to write the word "toot" three times!" Of course, Princess #2 seized the moment to get out her weekly potty-talk requirement as quickly as she could. Even Princess #3 got into the (dare I say fun?) and says, "once I tooted". [Insert gales of laughter from all three girls and the queen's frustration at needing to be responsible and NOT laughing at that little comment.]

And so here is my question for the void-why oh why are the "potty" words so funny to hear and funny to say?

Countertops and Floors . . . Oh My!!

My wonderful husband has been working hard these past couple weekends finishing up the last big bits of the kitchen remodel. Last weekend the long awaited countertops went on and my sink went in permanently! Yay!
Then this weekend, thanks to a fire out near where he works, he got an extra day off and got all the flooring done in the main area of the kitchen and then also through to the dinette. Today he made it up to the pantry. It looks so nice. It is Pergo, snap and lock tile. Wonderful stuff. Oh, and don't forget to check out my pretty new stove in the picture too, it's to the right of Princess #3!

I've Taught Her Well

Tonight, while clearing away more "stuff", so that he can potentially put in the new kitchen floor; my hubby found Princess #1's purse. He peeked inside and then shared the contents with me. All I can say is that she knows what a girl needs.

You need multiple shades and types of lip-gloss, lipstick, and other lip cosmetics. For instance you might need the lip-gloss ring to cover the accessorizing of the naked finger, and any lip care needs you may have when your purse isn't handy. You may also need extra bracelets or necklaces in neutral colors for that last minute outfit-completer. You will need a key ring, so you can get home again. But money . . . with those cute pouty lips and cute jewelry, what Daddy can say no to a stop at DQ?

At Long Last

I have great news! Our countertop laminate has found it's way to our local Home Depot! Hooray! (It has been back-ordered for about 3+ weeks.) For the past week, I have had my sink and d.w. thanks to my husband's resourcefulness. But once the real deal goes in, we'll be able to really settle into the kitchen. So exciting . . .

And now onto the new floor!