We put together a 500 piece puzzle today. Mostly Pierce and I did it. He’s persistent and quite good at it. He’s ready to start another one. I haven’t done one for years, but growing up it was a Christmas vacation thing we always did. My littles were shocked I actually knew how. My bigs […]

Apparently this is what 12 weeks along looks like with baby number nine. I keep getting asked when I’m due. The looks of sympathy when I say not until spring are quite comical. Baby’s heartbeat is 155 and I’ve begun to feel it move. So very fun. Happy Thanksgiving! We’re creating our own little feast, […]

Sterling made me a cute little owl wall hanging. He picked out walnuts from our tree, split them, and glued them on a branch to depict our family. “I even left a space for more. Just in case.” Smart boy. We’re looking forward to adding another owl to this lineup late next spring.

I woke up this morning with a grand plan for the day. Finish school, then hit the park for a walk with the younger six while the big girls work. And then. Eden went out to do chores and came back in with a “um… can you come look at this quick?” I was hoping […]

Charlotte turned nine last Thursday. Blaine took the day off and we made the rounds with free food coupons around town. Breadsticks at Little Caesar’s, popcorn chicken at Sonic (not free, but on sale and a fun treat), frozen yogurt at Orange Leaf. Then we went to the local painting place and the kids redeemed […]

We started school and free time for writing, breathing, and laundry vanished. Yeah. Ruby caught the laundry up finally yesterday. I folded, she washed and dried, kids all put away. I folded about eight loads two days in a row. Today: two loads and done. It’s all put away and everything. I think that’s the […]

We began co-op this week. I managed to get photos beforehand, run errands, and only pulled into the parking lot a minute after I planned to be there. We’re off to a good start. I had each child write their own name on the blackboard. I want to be able to compare handwriting improvements next […]

Stellan stared at his classmate with envy this week. He carried his backpack down the hallway and said, “I need a backpack with rollers on it, Momma. Will you buy me one?” I took his backpack from him and carried it, thinking maybe he was right. If he could manage it himself without deciding it […]

Stellan’s glasses lasted three days. He left them on the floor while he changed out of his church clothes and someone – who remains silent about their involvement – stepped on them. Like I said. Toddlers in glasses is no joke. He’d been doing so well though. His replacement frames are ordered and I ordered […]