a big (little) family

Trying to maintain my sanity and live to blog about it.

Back to School 2019

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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’s Backpack

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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 […]

Mowing jobs, broken glasses, and school again.

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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 […]

Toddlers in Glasses, Giant Squash, and New Jobs

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We started school last week. At least, we tried. It’s been sketchy at best, trying to get a full day’s work in. Any day now we’ll have a full day at home to accomplish greater things. Stellan visited the eye doctor last week. I’d noticed his eyes traveling inward when he’s tired, much like Eden’s […]

Funnel Cakes and a Rodeo in the Rain

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We got home Tuesday evening without incident. I have yet to catch up since. Laundry is done, folded, and put away. I found a new dresser for the two littlest girls and swapped that out for the one that was no longer fully functioning. That turned into a far bigger project than I expected. In […]

South Dakota: 2019

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After an uneventful trip north, during which my big green diesel van achieved new greatness with 19 mpg and then was insulted with a rock bouncing off the windshield not once but four times in rock chip hall of fame glory, we are in South Dakota at my parents’ house. We got here Friday, bought […]

Tattoos.

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The younger five kids came with me to the grocery store. The cashier offered them each a patriotic temporary tattoo. Why not? Then she told them to each take a handful. Side note: five very full handfuls of temporary tattoos is a LOT of tattoos. Elliot thought handful meant two hands full with more spilling […]

Camp and More Camp

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Eden and Sterling are at Rodeo Bible Camp. Again. This has been a summer full of missing children. Sterling is learning rodeo clowning/bull fighting. It sounds like he’s having a blast. Eden is working on chute dogging once more. The kids called today. Told me about all the hurt cowboys. Broken bones. Seizures. Punctured arteries […]

Branches.

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Happy Independence Day! I know. I’m late. My Thursday started out with a news article from my mom. A girl in Iowa had been killed from a tree branch. She’d been swinging on it or on a swing hanging from it, the article was unclear. The branch broke off and landed on her. This scenario […]

Liberty Skye: Sweet 16.

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Somewhere along the line, my smallest baby, tiniest toddler, and most petite little girl grew. And grew. And now she looks me in the eye and we measure our differences in height in not inches but by fractions of an inch. She’ll pass me sooner than later. And today, she turned 16. Her new driver’s […]