Snail Trails

Do you have these at your house? My kids leave snail trails behind everywhere they go. We observed the slimy trail left behind one day outside and ever since then this analogy has made perfect sense to my kids.

When Sweetheart is finished watching TV, she gets up and leaves the room. Blanket and cushion she was using still laying in floor. When Little Bit has a snack, the paper towel gets left on the kitchen table along with the cup she was drinking out of. Someone takes their shoes off under the table and there they sit. Someone draws and then leaves the pencil and paper on the coffee table. I could go on and on.

If I am present to remind them, these things get picked up immediately. But heaven forbid I get busy doing something in another room. I've actually taken them on a tour of their day through all the rooms pointing out the trail of slime they have left behind them. They get it.

One day I just KNOW all this nagging....I mean reminding is going to pay off. In fact, some days it seems like it is already paying off.

But I am convinced that when they finally stop leaving the slime behind, my house will be clean. I've had other theories over the years. When my children were younger I had what I called "the horizontal surfaces theory." See, I always walked around saying, "If these toys just weren't all over the floor, my house would look clean." But in reality, when all the toys got picked up and put away, there was still mess. It was on every horizontal surface in the house--the kitchen island, the side table in the living room, my night stand, the formal dining table, the fireplace mantle, etc. They were, by the way, all surfaces that my kids couldn't exactly reach at the time. Or at least the contents of the table was not theirs.

So....that blew my excuse about the toys. Now I'm blaming the snail trails, but I could be wrong.

What do you figure is the one reason why your house gets messy often?

(If your house does NOT get messy, you may leave a comment but only if you promise to go help a friend this week who is not as fortunate as you!)

My Life Is a Whirlwind and Our House Proves It

Hi! Allow me to introduce myself. I blog here....sometimes.

I am the one who is learning to homeschool 2 kiddos at once. I know, I know....you moms of many are laughing right now. HA! Two??? That would be like a vacation to me! But it's really new territory for me. It would be easier if they were a bit closer together in age.

I am the one who is actually trying really hard to write lesson plans every week. And keep the homeschool table cleaned off. I will not be sharing a picture of how it looks right now, thank you very much.

I am the one who has been driving to my sister's house this weekend to check on the dogs while she's out of town. She checks on our rabbits while we are gone so, I can't complain.

I am the one who has been sewing and painting furiously trying to get inventory ready for a booth at our local craft mall. We need some more scratch and this would be really nice if it worked out as we can be at home while we work on stuff. I like it when we are all home together.

I am the one who planned and hosted a birthday party last weekend for Sweetheart. She's 10. TEN!!!!

I am the one who has not been to the grocery store in well over a week except for little trips to pick up a day or two worth of stuff. We REALLY need a grocery trip and yet, we've eaten somehow.

I am the one who is taking a day off tomorrow (with husband's blessing--Thank you!!!) to get things in order around here because.....

I am the one who didn't finish the lesson plans.

I am the one who hasn't put sheets on the kids' beds in 3 days.

I am the one who, as mentioned previously, needs to go grocery shopping.

I am the one who must pay bills tomorrow.

I am the one who...who...who.....

...is going to bed now.

Many are asking, "Who can show us any good?"
Let the light of your face shine upon us, O LORD.
You have filled my heart with greater joy
than when their grain and new wine abound.
I will lie down and sleep in peace,
for you alone, O LORD,
make me dwell in safety.
Psalm 4:6-8

Why don't you tell us who you are today??? Leave it in the comments or leave a comment linking to your post.

Sometimes Things Work Out Right

Right? Our new schedule.

I think I actually planned it pretty well. Sweetheart is doing this subject while Little Bit does this, etc. It's hard juggling two different grades and I honestly don't know how moms of many do it. So, the schedule? It worked out. (so far)

Wrong? The attitude during school.

One of the daughters who shall remain nameless but was born first has a tendency to complain. Whine? No...it's more complaining. The last subject of the day before lunch found her with her head on the table complaining about how hungry she was. I may or may not have lectured her about how she was NOT a child from TV who was up for sponsorship and she had INDEED been given food on this day and can we please get on with the work? Five minutes later when she had been released to play before lunch she came dancing in the room full of smiles and laughter.

I think I partially hit the roof. All I know is in the midst of what came out of my mouth, she "yes ma'am'ed" me approximately 13 times. And I pointed a finger at her while I talked. Needless to say, that is unacceptable to me. I have made a "Complaint Card." There are 3 boxes drawn on it. When a complaint comes out of her mouth, I will color a square in. When all 3 are colored in, extra work will be assigned. If 2 more get colored in that day, a conference with Daddy will ensue.

I'll let you know how that comes out. It's important because it's a character issue. I don't care what all she's learning in school if she's learning to do it with a complaining attitude...that's no good.

Right? The VBS.

I sent the girls to the same Vacation Bible School I've been sending them to for the last 4 years. Our church hasn't hosted a VBS in a long time, and this church does a great job. They are a very small church and in fact they sold their building several years ago and have been meeting in their gym, which is where VBS takes place. They do such an amazing job for a church their size and this year's theme was "Rome--Paul and the Underground Church." Little Bit wasn't at all sure she wanted to go but when we walked in she was captivated. There were tents set up all around, with fake stone roads and roman columns everywhere. EVERYONE was in costume. They were whisked away immediately to the costume tent where they were outfitted in 1st century-ish attire. Here they are the night their cousins came with them:

Because Sweetheart was recovering from the flu, they didn't get to to go to all the nights, but I'm so glad they got to go to part of it. I love the picture of Sweetheart wearing a Toga that is now on my fridge. :)

So why did this work out so well? This year we are studying The Mystery of History Vol. 2, which begins with Paul and the underground church!!!! Yesterday we were reading about the catacombs (new to Mommy as well) when Sweetheart lit up and told me all about how they had crawled through a dark tunnel at VBS to visit with some Christians who were in hiding. They had also visited Paul while he was in house arrest and witnessed some Roman soldiers take down a peasant who had stolen some bread. Sweetheart had been chosen one night to take a secret message to the Christians in hiding. Needless to say: they brought history to life. This week I will be writing to thank them for sure!

Wrong? The day is still young....give me time.

Hope your day works out right today!

I Heart My New Schedule

How annoying is that title? I wish I could give credit to the blogger who says this but I can't remember who it is....but I pink puffy heart it! That cracks me up.

ANYWAY.....I love our Thursday and Friday schedules this year and I just have to tell you about them. OK, OK, so it's only been ONE Thursday and ONE Friday but I love them for now.

Today we did a few subjects here at home and then packed our lunches in our new lunch kits and went to the library at 11:00. We don't got to Preschool Story Time on Tuesdays anymore and I really like having Monday-Wednesday mornings at home. So we got to the library and picked out our books for the week. Then I checked out a laptop for Sweetheart and a Leap Pad for Little Bit and we sat down at a back table. Sweetheart did her Math lesson (Math U See--needed the laptop for the DVD) while Little Bit worked happily on the Leap Pad. I know Leap Pads are such ANCIENT technology, but she hasn't really ever played with one much so she loved it. Sweetheart liked doing math in a new locale and we were all happy.

Then we ate our lunch at a park....inside the car because it was raining. And after lunch we went to our homeschool group's play day at the gym. This Thursday rocked. I hope it keeps working.

Last Friday was our first FUN FRIDAY of the year. On Fridays, I plan either an experiment or a "book cook." Last Friday we planted seeds in little pots my parents brought home from Branson for us. This week we will make spider snacks because Little Bit has been learning about Mother Goose rhymes. (Little Miss Muffet, Itsy Bitsy Spider)

Then, we do an art project. Then we do a Spanish lesson. Then we do some activity on their theme of the week. Then we watch a movie and eat lunch in the living room. It's all fun! They know they must work hard Monday through Thursday in order to get to participate in Fun Friday. In fact, I give them a ticket to let them know if they "made it" or not.

And THIS Friday we will also be getting ready for a very special birthday. Sweetheart is turning TEN on Saturday!!!!! It's just not possible. Here she was 6 years ago. Sniff. Sniff.

When You Grow Up With Technology....

So I told you how we read the book Listen Buddy on the first day of school, right?

And then I had Sweetheart write a letter to Buddy telling him how to listen. She said, "I hope he writes me back!"

That spurred an unplanned string of events in which I wrote a letter to her in Buddy's handwriting. (He said, "Please excuse my handwriting, it's hard to hold the pen in my little paw.") She was very excited but Little Bit just about went crazy. A REAL letter from BUDDY??? How COOL!!!! (Sweetheart winked at me.)

So Little Bit wanted to write a letter to Buddy. She asked me, "Mom how do you spell....'Dear Buddy, How are you? I have rabbits too.'?" I told her I was reading a lesson with Sissy and I didn't have time to spell all that for her right now but she could copy Buddy's name off the book if she wanted.

So here was her letter:

She put it in the book which is where Buddy leaves the letters. Before bed, THANKFULLY the child said she couldn't wait to see if Buddy wrote her back. Thankfully, because I'm not sure I would have remembered otherwise. Kinda like that pesky Tooth Fairy at the Joyful Chaos house.

And good thing too because she was up right when I was and walked straight to the school room to see if a letter was there. She was very excited!!!! See? The best lesson plans in the world can't predict this kind of stuff.

But the best was when she was sitting in the floor by me trying to write her letter to Buddy. She was flipping through the book looking at the pictures and she said,

"Mom? I want to go to Buddy's house."

Um, yes. The illustrated one. I told her I wasn't sure where his house was.

"Then use your GPS!" was the reply.

These youngsters and their technology!