no award for me today

First of all, let me start by saying that I've been on blogger hiatus for such a long time that I'm not sure there is anyone even reading this. I almost titled this post "helloooooooo, anyone out there?" But, for what it's worth, I'm back. At least for today. Probably tomorrow and the next few days too. I am having dental surgery tomorrow and will pretty much be laying (or is it lying? that is one verb I can never get right) around all weekend so I should have plenty of time to get some cute Caleb photos up here as well as recap some of what's been going on around our home.

I had a moment today that was worth posting. I needed to run to the store and my list was random enough to warrant not going to the grocery but to my favorite-of-all-time-but-ends-up-costing-me-10-times-more-than-I-should-be-spending-store Target. I rarely go there anymore b/c my list of 10 things usually ends up becoming a cart full of 50 things that I didn't even realize that I needed until that very moment. And the bill is never less than shockingly "too much". But today was different. I needed things like light bulbs, food, paper products, and b-day gifts for friends of the girls. Bottom line: I ended up at Target and was thoroughly enjoying it. Well, as much as one can w/4 kids in tow. Anyway, toward the end I was getting a bit grumpy b/c I couldn't find several of my "must have" items on my list and I was going to have to make another stop at a "real" grocery store and my purpose for even going to Target was to get all my things at one place. Mission not accomplished.

So I am standing in line. The nice lady at the check-out says, "Oh, is school out today? I've seen a lot of kids lately." I'm a bit grumpy b/c I'm thinking about having to stand in line again at the grocery store across the street so I am not exactly in my happy/friendly place and answer w/a fairly short, "No. They're not." Silence. So I add, "We homeschool." And she says, in a really friendly kind of way, "Oh, do you make shopping into a school experience?!" And, fortunately, what I am thinking stays in my head and I simply say, "No. We just needed to go the store." I wasn't in the mood for hanging out and talking homeschool talk at that moment. Just wasn't. Usually I'm nice like that but not then. So she says something to the effect of, "Well, sometimes when I take my nephew to the store we make it all fun and I have him tally up the cost of everything and guess how much the bill will be. There are so many lessons in shopping." I just swipe my card and look down. Cause I'm really thinking, "Hey, lady. I just needed paper towels and light bulbs, ok? Nothing homeschooling about it. I mean, I guess if I wanted Homeschool Mom of The Year I might do that. But today, I'm just a mom needing toilet paper."

By the time I get to the parking lot and start unloading my things into the van I just started laughing and I asked the kids if they heard it all. They did. And I burst out laughing. There was a time in my life when I would have been all about promoting the homeschool family and making sure that the nice lady knew that my kids had, indeed, done school in the morning and we were just taking a break but it was back to school when they got home and how lovely it is to share these moments together and how wonderful it is that we can spend leisure time together during the days AND in the evenings b/c we finish school in record time and have no homework and la, la, la, la. But today I'm the mom who secretly wishes I could go to Target BY MY SELF during the day like all the other moms that I run into there. So, definitely no Homeschool Mom Award for me today. Or ever probably. But I'm fine w/it. Awards just get dusty on a shelf and end up getting thrown away anyway, right?

Oh, and as we were all in grocery store #2 a few minutes later, there was a large display of Bugle corn chips on sale for a dollar. I LOVE those things and say, "Look, kids! Kara, pick one up." Kara gets giddy and says, "Oh! Bu(insert short "u" symbol here)gles!." And I start laughing and say, "BUUUUgles, Kara, Bugles. Not Buggggles." And then I tell her that we COULD, just COULD make a phonics lesson out of it since we ARE a homeschool family. And all of us start laughing. Except, of course, Caleb. He is oblivious to any of it and is still asking if he can open his valentine stickers that I bought him back at Target.

Calling all facebook-ers

If you are on Facebook, PLEASE take a look at this video and vote for Half The Sky starting on Friday, January 15th. It's worth a million dollars. For real.

This is the organization that works in Caleb's orphanage as well as others throughout China. They could be working in every orphanage in China if they win this. So go and vote!

if you have 4 minutes

Remembering how we felt this time last year...

And praying for all the children who are still waiting for someone to call them their own...

Homeschooling

Homeschooling at its best....

History timeline project (this had been on my "to do" list for the kids for 3 years!)

Behold, a child at her desk. Am I dreaming the best dream ever?!

Look at this cutie trying to "do (s)kool" like his brother and sisters...

Yes, I would say that is a masterpiece, wouldn't you?!

The best part of any school day...

waiting for Daddy to come home.

the reasons why

I started this post a few weeks ago. Hasn't gotten finished until today.

Ahh, here sits my lonely computer. It's missing me. See the mess all around it? The MESS is constantly calling me...Pick me up. Organize me. Make things all better in the kitchen. I hear these things. I swear I do. See the open calendar there? It's begging me to cross something off. Pleading really. And sadly, blogging isn't on my calendar. I'm about ready to put it on there. For real.

Welcome to my new life.

I love it. I really do. But my life + blogging doesn't really add up nicely together right now. Thus the reason for my hiatus. See, funny thing is that I had tons of time to spend on my blog while waiting for Caleb but nothing really to write about b/c life seemed to just stand still. Now I have tons of really great Caleb-stuff to write about and little time to do it.

Other than the voices I hear calling me in the kitchen, this is what's been getting in the way of my leisure time on bloggerland...

A house full of things to do and what is seeming like less and less time to do them. More specifically, a house full of random cars, trucks, planes, and trains to welcome you as you walk in our front door...

And hidden in every corner of every room. Really. Not exaggerating here...

Oh, wait { } insert cute pic of Caleb here to remind me that all of those random car messes have been lovingly placed there by one loved boy!

Of course, I have a system that would take care of all of the random cars lying around throughout the house. There is a designated basket for anything with wheels. Here it is on a good day. Full.

It generally doesn't look like this. It's usually nearly empty and the floor of our house is littered w/cars. I'm telling you....it's a miracle none of us have broken a leg. Plenty of stubbed toes. No broken bones. Yet.

On to beds. Never made.



And one of the main reasons they are never made is b/c when I actually attempt to make them, I generally get side-tracked by laundry.

And to make every little detail in my life take just a few minutes longer...Caleb has apparently decided that his laundry basket would be a good bookshelf. Mind you, the actual bookshelf and book basket (TWO systems in place, TWO!!) are just inches away from his laundry basket. But he seems to think that his books fit nicely in his laundry basket. Cute, huh? Maybe cute in 10 years for me. Not now.

Then, the never ending saga of the school books...
They are everywhere in this house. The stairs, the couch, the kitchen table, my bedroom, my closet, everywhere. Well, everywhere except on a school desk.

The kitchen. Need I say more?

It is a never ending "to do" list for me. I'm not sure that will ever change. As soon as I call it done in there the battle begins all over again. Good thing I like my kitchen because I spend the majority of my day in it. One of my "I'm gonna do this if it kills me" goals of each day is to have dinner ready when Andy walks in the door. And then he cleans it up! Well, he and the kids. They all have a cleaning party after dinner and I get a few minutes on my computer w/out interruption. Good thing/Bad thing: They have such a good system going on that they're done way before I'd like. I'm not complaining. I'm just not blogging as much b/c of it!

The basement. I dare go down there. More of the same.

However, there is one small space down there that is making me smile. Ahhh...all organized. Gives me hope.

And a random fact for today...

As I was standing in the kitchen deciding which task to tackle first, Anna pops up in front of me and says, "Mom, this is how many pages I've read since August." Because, bless her heart, she's keeping track of how many pages she's read, not how many books. Because, you know, a book might be 100 pages or it could be 300 pages and who would want to know that you just read two books. It is MUCH better to know how many pages. Isn't it? Yes, Anna. In some weird sort of way, I get ya. It's a system. And I like it. And such is my life right now. Doesn't leave much time for significant blogging.

still here!

A quick photo update on our life.

One lost tooth:

One very happy 4 year old who is spoiled rotten by his sisters.

This is Anna's beloved "Claire" bear and she even allows Caleb to sleep with it if he asks.

Anna has even been letting Caleb play with her digital camera.

Little does Caleb know how huge this is. Anna...joyfully sharing with a brother? Huh? Bizarre. But true.

Can you tell Caleb took this photo?!

And apparently Anna discovered "sepia" setting on her camera. Lovely, huh? Wait....is that a school book in the background (above AND below!)? I thought Kara was quietly being studious upstairs in her room.

Uh, ya. Definitely a school book here. And from the looks of things...not one studious child here. Not one.

bad shoe choice for state fair

Although our state fair involves plenty of my top 10 things in life that I could do without (heat, humidity, animals, heat, crowds, heat, foods that seem like a good thing at the time yet inevitably end up making me feel sick and several pounds heavier, heat, and...need I go on?!) we have made it a yearly tradition in our family. I'll just say that the pictures always turn out way cuter and perfect looking than I am ever feeling at the moment. Last night it was my shoes. I hate walking around the fair in flip flops or sandals b/c there are just too many nasty things on the ground. But I also hate wearing anything BUT sandals/flip flops in the summer b/c I'm always hot and having my feet feel hot as well generally puts me over the edge. And over the edge is not a happy place for me to be or for my family to have to be around. So I had this dilemma last night. Cool flip flops + nasty animal crud on my feet or semi-tennis shoes + clean but hot feet. I chose the latter and it ended up not being the best option. My semi-tennis shoes that LOOKED fairly cute and were supposed to keep me from feeling dirty and hot ended up giving me blisters about 1/2 an hour into the evening. We were there for over 4 hours. AND....I nearly had blisters on my hands too b/c the stinking stroller that we used for the first time was nearly impossible to steer. So although I spent most of the time complaining about how hot it was (it was SUPPOSED to be just 82 degrees yesterday...no way. it was NOT that cool at the fair.) and how much my feet and hands hurt, it was still fun. Sort of. In a hot, miserable kind of way.

Of course, none of these photos would ever make you think that we had anything less than a grand time last night. The kids had a fabulous time. And maybe in a few years I'll look at these and think that I did too...



Really. Does it get any sweeter than this next one? Caleb is in his happy place with two of his favorite things in life: things with wheels and his thumb.


More wheels...this time without his thumb!



And the fair wouldn't really be quite as fun without our friends the Shanks.