My Peacefully Chaotic Life

When there's a lot to be done and children around that is the approach to take. A little at a time. Remember yesterday's to-do list? Well, I picked it up again today and added to it! We homeschooled today which was a challenge to say the least! The FlowerChild was short on attention but big on attitude! We finally had a life discussion and surprisingly it helped. At least long enough to finish her schoolwork! :) I finished some more laundry today but didn't get to the sheets. But the children's clothing and the towels are done. With this household laundry is a never ending chore! I also managed to get the house picked up, dusted, and vaccuumed. I still need to tackle our room and do this, too. But, hey that door will close if need be! I went over to the church this afternoon and worked in my Mission Friends room. FlowerChild got into working in there much more than schoolwork. She was quite a help and I could really tell she is growing up. We still have to finish up in ...

My little FlowerChild wasn't up to par today. She obviously felt bad but the only thing that was for sure was a toothache so it made me suspect sinus pressure. She stayed very sleepy and was so emotional! I hope she isn't getting sick! But that is one thing that is nice about homeschooling. Instead of losing a day of school we can just go to a lighter schedule when she isn't feeling well. So today we did some reading aloud (Little House in the Big Woods), some copywork to practice on handwriting, and reviewed her math orally. In between we watched a lot of PBS and rocked in the recliner! :) I let her have a bubble bath late this afternoon and that seemed to make her feel a little better. I wasn't going to take her to church tonight but she begged so that I finally gave in. By the time we went she was playing and running as though nothing had ever been wrong! She also knew that if I saw the slightest hint that she still felt lousy I would not have allowed her to go! That...

Do any of you have children that like to pack the house when you go somewhere? You can try the whole "just one toy" trick and go round and round about that. (or have them puff up and whine because they could not take all their favorites). Or you can try to ignore it and wind up with a floorboard that looks like a toybox. Or you could do this. Get them a backpack or bag that they really love. You might even like to buy a plain one and allow them to decorate it themselves. Whatever will fit in the bag can go. (as long as it is something you have previously decided was ok to leave the house) You might even allow them to pack a snack or water bottle, too. Everyone carries their own bag. This helps us when we go places. Being in the country means everything is a trip, even just running up to the library or dollar store. So this makes for happy children and happy parents. It makes it much easier now to keep the car clean. If you just do a quick check of their bag as you get ready t...

We had a great day today. We woke up this morning knowing we had to go get our taxes done. No fun! But it turned out that afterwards we were able to spend the evening with some old friends of ours that we don't get to see very often. Our children romped and played in the backyard, screaming and laughing. We ordered pizza and sat around the table talking about everything under the sun from weight to politics. Their daughter came over and spent the evening, too. That made it extra nice. Back years ago I tutored her precious daughter in the afternoons so we saw each other on a daily basis. But now that we live so far apart we never get to visit! But one thing hasn't changed. My babies LOVE her! So it was not what we expected when we got up this morning. It was much better. :o) On the home front, I went out and checked on Rosie early this morning. Guess what. More puppies. The official count is 11. But one died this morning so we are at 10 now. The girls can't wait to hold them...

Lots of them! As in too many to get a good count with them under their mama but we are guessing 9 or 10. Ok, friends at the chicken house, stop laughing. Now, all other friends, family and new bloggy friends, you stop laughing, too. I feel like I am living in 101 Dalmations.Except if Cruella DeVille came in I might be tempted....ok, not really. But honestly I knew Rosie was happily frolicking a couple of months ago but who knew just how much frolicking one dog could do? Or as the little ones said when they reported her frolicking, "Mama, Look! Rosie and CD are playin' leapfrog!" And no, before you ask, Mama did NOT correct them! But anyhoo...here is the before picture of Rosie. She was soooo pregnant. Now I see why! She is a sweet, sweet dog. She showed up at our house just a few months back. I have never seen a dog so skinny and malnourished. She was literally a walking skeleton. Her fur was dry and brittle. She only had a few of her teeth. (They came in once she starte...

We had a wonderful day at church yesterday. We had a Baby and Child dedication service. (Or as LadyBug puts it "we got marry-cated") For anyone not familiar with this it does not have anything to do with the children's salvation. Rather it is a covenant between the parents, church and God. The parents agree that the child will be raised in a Godly home and they will do everything they can to ensure good influences that will guide them towards a relationship with Christ. The church members agree to be supportive prayer partners that will help the parents in providing Godly role models. I have not listed all the promises made but that is the main point of it all. We had many young families take part in this, including us. It was particularly touching to me that with The FisherMan leading the service I would have been standing alone. The GuitarMan chose to stand in for his dad. Our little ones are so blessed to have not only such a wonderful, loving daddy but also this carin...

We had a birthday party to attend today. It was a nice time for everyone there. The girls received goody bags as we left. Candy was tucked inside each bag which they immediately dove into! But they also each had a kite! Well, nothing doing but we had to go fly those kites as soon as we got home! The old, stick in the mud parents were not exactly on board as we had plans on taking care of some needed work. But we were happily proven wrong as we had a wonderful time with our children. Sometimes the work needs to wait in favor of family time. I captured some wonderful pictures. Alas, striving for anonymity requires some sacrifice so as much as I would love to share some of the cutest ones (such as LadyBug with her cheeks puffed up attempting to blow her kite when the wind would not cooperate!) these pictures will have to do. And between my slow computer and dial-up internet it will have to be just two this time!