Day 1

This was our first day of school: 

We started the day grumpy with not enough sleep, but we smoothed it over with peanut butter oatmeal for breakfast.  We organized our school binders, colored another square on the Bible coloring pages we started this summer, handed out new books, and discussed our schedule.  We even made a quick drive to the library to pick up some holds.

These are my students: 

Alaine will be 6 in a few weeks and is starting first grade.  She loves school and is looking forward to math and writing.  She also loves when I read aloud.

Ben will be 8 in October and he is starting third grade.  He is most excited about math, and I'm excited that he became a fluent and speedy reader over the summer so I can assign more complex books for history. 

Owen will be 10 next week and is entering fifth grade.  He is also looking forward to math and loves when the school day involves art or cooking. 

Maddie is 12 and starting seventh grade.  She is looking forward to learning Japanese this year and also excited about science and journaling. 

Gavin will be 14 in December and beginning his high school journey!  He asked to study art history this year, and he accumulated enough hours this summer to be well on his way to earning a  P. E. credit. 

And this is our tiny pre- pre- pre- pre- pre-schooler.  I had intentions to make and color Macie a sign, too, but instead we took her photo with this inflatable flamingo... as you do. 

Check Up and Check In

Life was a tad crazy in July.  Normally,  a busy schedule is out of my comfort zone and I crave days at home with quiet and order, but the kids and I have loved this summer of friends, outings, food, and activity.  We found a happy balance between fun and keeping the house (and our minds) in order.

Brian has had one of the busiest summer seasons on record which is a good thing for business but tiring at the same time.  He has managed to squeeze in some time for fun, though.

Some things were put on the back burner for a time and we declared it okay.  We ate a lot of sandwiches and meals on the go.  (One night we ate BLTs and everyone raved over it!  Go figure.) We ate out more than usual.  We read in the car instead of the couch. Macie learned to sleep in the ring sling. Blogging sort of stopped altogether.

This summer was about relationships, not rules and routine.  Here are some of things we did while I was away from the blog:

Macie had her 6-month check-up. 
She turned 6 months on July 10, but her appointment was scheduled later in the month.  She weighs 16 pounds 9.5 ounces, which places her in the 53rd percentile.  After struggling with weight gain as a newborn and then stabilizing around the 5th percentile for months, this is monumental! 

She is scooting forward and trying to crawl, but she can't figure out how to push up onto her hands and her knees at the same time. 

She started solid foods at 6 months, too.  We practice baby-led weaning so most of what she eats, she feeds herself, but I help if we are out or if it's going to be super messy.  For example, I let her eat homemade pasta sauce off of my finger rather than let her go at it with her own fingers.  Her favorite foods so far are broccoli and tomatoes.  

She wasn't impressed with cucumber, but from the looks of that photo, neither was I!

We took the kids to see The Secret Life of Pets at the theater.

My mom and sisters watched Macie so we didn't have to keep a baby happy...in the dark... in a seat... at nap time!  I love a movie theater experience.  Even movies I'd never watch at home (I'm a party pooper with animated movies.) are fun on the big screen!  

We spent a week of mornings at VBS. 
The kids had a blast!  They sang and crafted their way through the week.  They bonded with friends and made new ones.  The theme was "Submerged," featuring submarines and sea animals, and it focused on diving deep into God's word. 

Gavin assisted during recreational time.  He was part of a team of two adults and three teen guys. During their break, they had a time of Bible study and fellowship together.

Last year, I helped in the kindergarten class which was okay.  This year I worked at registration and loved every minute of it.  It satisfied all of my organizational needs. I was also surprised at how much I enjoyed greeting all the kids and parents each day, getting to know them, and learning their names. Macie was a trooper and napped in the sling each morning, sleeping through all the commotion around us.  When she woke up mid-morning, she smiled and visited with a variety of people and became special friends with anyone who would give her Cheerios.

I was particularly happy she kept up with naps because we had several afternoon/evening activities that week, too.  One day we went swimming at a friend's pool with a large group of friends.  Some of us continued the party at a new local pizza shop for dinner. Another evening, a friend grilled hot dogs and the rest of us brought sides.  The kids played basketball and hide-and-seek outside while the adults chatted on the deck. 

On the Sunday following VBS, we had a church picnic with a 14-foot water slide and snow cones.  It was 95 degrees, but we had a fantastic time.  Two of my kids ate four snow cones apiece and I didn't mind a bit.  Maybe that's because I ate three myself!  

I neglected to get any photos of the event, but Brian got this one of the teenagers helping to roll the air out of the water slide when the picnic was over.

We're watching the third season of The Great British Baking Show on our local PBS channel. 

There hasn't much extra time for TV, but we got hooked when season 1 was still available on Prime.  It's been a fun way to unwind once a week.   It's renewed the kids' interest in the kitchen, too.  Owen wants to be a baker when he grows up so he and Maddie made starfish sugar cookies for their class at VBS and chocolate chip cookies for movie night at church.


Gavin went to 3-D Printing camp.
All my boys have been fascinated with 3-D printing since they learned that Lego prototypes are often printed this way. When we found out about a local camp...and when Gavin received a scholarship to attend...he jumped at the chance. Gavin is a man of few words these days, but we chatted about it every day on the drive home. Some people say the best time to talk with teenagers is late at night, but our sweet spot is while we're riding. 

Maddie turned 12! 
Birthday season has begun at our house.  We have 4 birthdays and an anniversary in a 5-week span. 

Maddie didn't have a party to celebrate, but our friends' 15th wedding anniversary was the same day so we invited their kids to eat with us so they could go out to dinner alone.

We put candles on our ice cream dessert and the kids played a very loud and competitive game of hot potato so I think we turned it into a party after all.

Other highlights of our summer:

• several birthday parties
• a library event where every kids who attended took home a bagged lunch  (My homeschool children were beyond thrilled at the typical school lunch fare.)
• a community theater production of Mary Poppins which has inspired Maddie to try out for a fall show
• a minor league baseball game
• a cool, rainy 4th of July cookout where the kids got to play in the rain
• a fireworks show on the warmer, sunnier 5th of July

We start school on Wednesday and I am sad to say good-bye to our carefree summer.  It's taking a lot of discipline to buckle down and not extend our summer by a few weeks, but I always keep August flexible anyway and I'll be thanking myself in January when we are able to take the month off. 

Why Having a Baby Is Hard...(and that's okay!)

I'm a sixth-time mom, but experience does not make it easy.  I still worry about why my baby won't sleep or why my boys can't get through day without picking on each other.  I'm also not immune to other people's opinions, looks, and comments.  

I do feel like I have the benefit of perspective this go-round, though.  I know every stage and every trial only lasts for  a short season. Baby days turn into toddler days.  Arguing boys transform into teenagers with a new set of cares.

My advice to new or young moms (or older moms, like me) is to choose whatever sleep situation allows everyone to the get the most sleep.  Trying to force something that isn't working just leaves everyone miserable.  They won't always be waking up, won't always be in your room, won't always be needing you all night.  

Smile at the people in the grocery store who tell you your hands are full or who ask nosy questions or who glare when your child is whining in the juice aisle.

Don't worry about the days when the kids...or you!...watch too much TV.  Everyone can be more productive tomorrow.

Some days, maybe many days, will be lonely and you'll long to talk to someone besides the baby. Loneliness is a real thing, but kids grow up and you'll realize the monotonous days were worth it.

I'm going to repeat something I wrote on the blog seven years ago because it is still true today:

In [our] inner struggle to determine cloth or disposable, homeschool or public, organic or not, my bed or his own, have I put too much merit in trivialities?  In deciding whether to expose my little ones to vaccines or food dyes or television, have I remembered the crux of the matter?

Does Gavin know Jesus?  Is Maddie living for Him?  Will Owen and Benjamin [and Alaine and Macie] spend eternity in Heaven? 

In the end, that's what matters.

(Click here for other posts in this series.)

Why Having a Baby Is Hard...(and that's okay!)

I'm a sixth-time mom, but experience does not make it easy.  I still worry about why my baby won't sleep or why my boys can't get through day without picking on each other.  I'm also not immune to other people's opinions, looks, and comments.  

I do feel like I have the benefit of perspective this go-round, though.  I know every stage and every trial only lasts for  a short season. Baby days turn into toddler days.  Arguing boys transform into teenagers with a new set of cares.

My advice to new or young moms (or older moms, like me) is to choose whatever sleep situation allows everyone to the get the most sleep.  Trying to force something that isn't working just leaves everyone miserable.  They won't always be waking up, won't always be in your room, won't always be needing you all night.  

Smile at the people in the grocery store who tell you your hands are full or who ask nosy questions or who glare when your child is whining in the juice aisle.

Don't worry about the days when the kids...or you!...watch too much TV.  Everyone can be more productive tomorrow.

Some days, maybe many days, will be lonely and you'll long to talk to someone besides the baby. Loneliness is a real thing, but kids grow up and you'll realize the monotonous days were worth it.

I'm going to repeat something I wrote on the blog seven years ago because it is still true today:

In [our] inner struggle to determine cloth or disposable, homeschool or public, organic or not, my bed or his own, have I put too much merit in trivialities?  In deciding whether to expose my little ones to vaccines or food dyes or television, have I remembered the crux of the matter?

Does Gavin know Jesus?  Is Maddie living for Him?  Will Owen and Benjamin [and Alaine and Macie] spend eternity in Heaven? 

In the end, that's what matters.

(Click here for other posts in this series.)

The Evening Walk

I'll start off by clarifying that Macie is a "good" sleeper.  She loves her afternoon nap in a cool room, with a fan blowing for air and noise.  Most nights she sleeps all the way through or wakes to nurse once, going back to her bed as soon as she's done.  She went through a brief phase (thankfully!) when she thought 5 am was an acceptable wake time, but we're back to a more workable 6:30 or 7. However, bedtime is our kryponite.  

She gets tired and falls asleep by 7:30, but then she wakes up and wants to stay awake until we go to bed.  She's often cranky, and it's frustrating to a mama and daddy who are also tired at the end of the day. We've tried cutting her afternoon nap short, giving her a quick power nap in the early evening, or postponing her bedtime until a little later.  None of it has solved the problem.  We're still working on finding a pleasing scenario...one that gives all of us the rest and down time we need in the evenings.  

Until then, we're choosing another way to combat the frustrations without twiddling our thumbs and counting the minutes until we can attempt to put her to bed again.  

It started one Saturday evening.  The older kids had settled into watching a movie... and Macie woke up, raring to go for another couple of hours.  The humidity was low, the temperature was mild, and there was a light breeze so Brian and I put on our shoes and I popped Macie into the sling for a walk.

We walked and walked and talked and talked.  We covered three slow leisurely miles as we discussed jobs, parenting, movies, the past, the future, church, and the scenery.   Macie hummed as we strolled.  We took a phone call from the kids wondering why we were still outside.  When we returned home, Macie snuggled into bed with zero issues, and both Brian and I benefited from the fresh air and felt renewed from the conversation and exercise.

A few nights later, Brian was working late, and Macie repeated her late nap ritual.  Ben was feeling discouraged from an argument with a sibling so this time I asked him to put on his shoes and take a walk with me.  We didn't go as far, but the walk opened him up to conversation.  He shared his hurt and moved on to happy topics, too, like the birds he could see and the objects discarded along the road.  (A fork?!) 

Now everyone is waiting for their chance to be asked to take the evening walk. 

Picture Books Aren't Just For Toddlers

{This post contains Amazon affiliate links.}

Alaine and I have developed a happy routine of reading books together after our family morning viewing is done. I've been surprising her by having whole stack of books waiting via the hold shelf when we visit the library weekly. Each morning, she chooses several and we read together until Macie gets bored and can't be distracted from grabbing and chewing the pages. 

I've been sharing some of our favorites in quick blips on the blog's Facebook page, but several of you expressed interest in an occasional list on the blog, too.

The three I'm featuring today are picture books that not only appeal to older kids, but are actually better suited for the older set.

Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11  by Brian Floca

This book is unique in that it shares facts about this famous flight in a flowing, almost-poetic style.  I almost wish I waited to read it when we study the era in school this coming school year, but Gavin and I were enticed so we went for it. We learned the names of the three astronauts aboard and wondered why only two are household names.  We read about how the astronauts sleep and eat...and use the bathroom!... in space. I don't think Alaine (5) appreciated the book nearly as much as Gavin (13) and I did. 

Chopsticks by Amy Rosenthal

It's usually Maddie (11) who peeks over my shoulder when I read to Alaine, but Gavin shared this one with us, too.  It is technically written for young children, but they surely do not understand all the wordplay and inside jokes like someone a bit more mature.  

The Hole Story of the Doughnut by Pat Miller

This one might be a cheat because I already mentioned it on the Facebook page, but it's too fun to miss. Also along the food theme, this book is the story of the invention of the donut.  There are various tall tales detailing the creation of this confection, but this is supposedly the true version. Either way, it's a entertaining book, especially if you indulge in a donut before or after you read. (Don't miss the author's note in the back of the book!) 

5 Things I'm Loving Right Now

{This post contains Amazon affiliate links and a bunch of other links, too!  All opinions are my own.}

1) Binge-watching The Great British Baking Show in the afternoon with my kids while Macie naps.  I think we watched the entire 10-episode series in three afternoons!  (It leaves Amazon Video tomorrow so we were in a bit of a hurry.) 

2) Target t-shirts.  Last summer I was pregnant, and the summer before that I weighed less and wasn't nursing a baby.  My clothing needs are unique this year so when I found a basic t-shirt that felt good and didn't stretch out of shape even after my baby pulled and tugged on it all day, I bought ten of them.  Yes, ten.

3) Free online learning sources.  I plan for Ben and Alaine to take "art lessons" next school year with The Art Club Online (specifically Lessons 1-10).  In the meantime, this summer, all the kids have been drawing with Art for Kids Hub. I'm also interested in exploring two sites my sister-in-law told me about last week: A. Pintura: Art Detective (a mystery game about fine art) and  Classics for Kids (with games, worksheets, audio, and more about composers).

4) Summer meals. When I planned meals for the summer, my goals were to avoid the oven and to eat dairy-free.  Despite the repetition, we love what we're eating this summer.  I'm spending less time in the kitchen and, ironically, the simplest meals are getting the biggest compliments from my family.

5) Thinkbaby sunscreen. The words sunblock and sunscreen are often used interchangeably, but this is technically a sunblock because the only active ingredient is zinc oxide  It earned a 1 (out of 10) on EWG's Sunscreen Guide.  I hate the smell of sunscreen, but this one has a pleasant fruity smell-- not at all offensive.  The price is reasonable, too!  And of course, most importantly, it kept Macie's skin from coloring when we spent an afternoon at the beach last week.  (If you are looking for a drugstore sunscreen that won't break the bank, Banana Boat Sport Performance Lotion  is not a bad choice.  It earned a 4 on EWG's Sunscreen Guide-- not ideal, but not awful.) 

Summer Readers...and books you may enjoy

We did it.  After years of avoiding our library's summer reading program, we eagerly signed up for it this year!  

Four years ago we did our own  summer reading program at home with low stress and great success , but this is the year to go with our library's program.  Here's why:

1) The kids are old enough to do their own record keeping.  No more of my scrawling a list of books on a wrinkled reading log (x5) on our way out the door to the library. Nope. Everyone is responsible for their own. 

2) Our library's reading program this year requires the kids to keep track of how long they read, not how many books they read.  I love that this encourages my kids to read books based on interest, not length.

3) One of my kids resists reading for pleasure, but a little outside incentive is motivation for him to read without prompting.

4) Ben (7) and Alaine (5) don't remember ever participating in a summer reading program.  It's a new, easy, and cheap thrill.  

5) I've been reading scads of picture books with Alaine and Macie (and whoever else wants to peek over my shoulder).  I shared my favorites here, here, here, here and here.  We might as well get credit for all that reading! 

*****

A few summers ago, I published a free eBook with ideas of books to read aloud to your kids over the summer.  These are also great choices for independent reads.  (I have one kids who reads voraciously and a list like this helps me keep good literature in his hands.)

Click here to get your copy of  the Summer Reading Guide For Families.

One last thing: if you enjoy my book recommendations...or if you don't...can you take just 1 minute to answer these 2 questions so I can better suit your needs on my blog and on my Facebook page?

Click here to answer the survey.

How YouTube Is Transforming Our Mornings

Let me start by saying I'm almost too embarrassed to post this.  It doesn't feel right to admit that we start our day in front of a screen.  But let me back up and tell you about our summer mornings.  

I might sit on my bed nursing Macie while the kids get up.  The boys tend to wake first and they eat breakfast and sometimes watch Wild Kratts on TV.  Then the girls get up and join the boys.  If I'm still in my room, the kids start playing Legos until I remind them to get dressed and do their chores before they have free time.  An hour later we realize Alaine never ate breakfast and no one emptied the dishwasher.  A few kids argue about who gets to play magnetic darts first and I spend the hours nagging about what's not getting done instead of investing in quality time with my kids! The morning slips away before I've had a shower, and when I peek into the bedrooms around lunchtime, I notice an unmade bed. 

Maybe the answer is to make a morning schedule and to require more responsibility and accountability, but we're choosing another way.

Now as soon as the kids come out of their rooms in the morning, Owen holds Macie while I make my bed.  Then we all congregate in the living room.  Macie nurses or plays on the floor while the rest of us watch Good Mythical Morning together. Good Mythical Morning is a clean, talkshow-esque YouTube channel that puts out a funny 10-15 minute video every morning.  (Their ninth season is ending on Friday, but there are scads of old shows we can catch up on.  Season 10 begins August 1.) 

Once our non-morning people have laughed themselves awake, we watch Five Minute Family Devotional. Five Minute Family Devotional, another YouTube channel, reviews men and women from the Bible chronologically.  It ends with 1-2 discussion questions and a suggested prayer topic. The channel releases several episodes per week.  So far there are eleven of a total twenty-five.  (The channel is a division of JellyTelly, which is part of  What's in the Bible? {affiliate link}, a brand we love!)

All told, our viewing lasts less than a half hour, but it centers us and puts us all in one place to begin the day. I'm available to make sure everyone has eaten and begun their morning routine and chores, and it  makes it easy to move on studying the body on Mondays or read books with Alaine on the other days.  (I'm sharing some of our favorite picture book on the blog's Facebook page a few times a week.)

Best of all, it gives me an opportunity to laugh and share with all my kids...and make a few memories, too!

(Click here for other posts in this series.)

The Sorta Lazy Days of Summer

{This post contains Amazon affiliate links.}

Every year I go into summer thinking that this is the year we will have loads of free time and endless quiet afternoons at home...and then life happens.  Of course, we wouldn't have it any other way.  While I do enjoy days with nothing on the calendar, I appreciate them so much more when they are sandwiched between busier days, days when we visit our friends or go out for ice cream or drive to the beach.

On our first week off from school in May, we had five separate events in the span of three days! While we hope not to keep up that pace, the days and weeks are slowly filling with both in-home and away plans.

• Brian and two of the boys are going to a baseball game with my dad.  Maddie and I (without the baby!) are attending a local theater production of Mary Poppins.  Several of us are attending my sister's choir recital...
  
  
• We're going to the beach (even though I'm still sand-phobic).  We're borrowing a beach umbrella and using a bit of this sunblock.  It has zinc oxide, the only active sunblock ingredient approved by the FDA for babies younger than 6 months, and probably a safer choice for everyone!
  
  
• I'm slipping school planning into the cracks.  Can I say that I am only mildly less intimidated by high school than I was a few months ago?  But I made some choices and I made an Amazon order yesterday!
  
  
• We're getting our health credit out of the way.  We're using My Body by Patty Carratello. Alaine (5) and Ben (7) are the students and Owen (9) and Maddie (11) are acting as the teachers.  We have a large cut-out body taped to a door in our house whom they've named  Bobby the Body. Our "students" color and add an organ or two every Monday!  The "teachers" read the text to them while they work. They've also put together a floor-size body puzzle.  

• We're doing other puzzles, too, which means we are eating meals around the kitchen counter or in the living room or even on the floor. Everyone loves the novelty of it.
  

• Some of the kids are taking care of plants.  Maddie has daffodils.  Gavin has sunflowers and Alaine has zinnias.  Ben has wild strawberries and basil. Owen has my "black thumb."
  
  
• Ben has taken off with independent reading.  He started with the Young Cam Jansen series by David Adler at the end of the school year, then progressed to the regular Cam Jansen book series.  When he started going through two in a day and ran out of library books well before "library day," he scoured our home shelves and started the Ramona series.  He is beginning the fourth book today.
  
  
• I'm trying to be intentional to read with Alaine on the mornings when we're home.  She sometimes falls between the cracks of big kids and baby, but she loves our one-on-one time. We've enjoyed the Library Mouse series this week. We're also making our way through the Mrs. Noodlekugel series.  We're getting lots of inspiration from this list of 100 picture books to read this summer.  I plan to share some of our favorite on the blog's Facebook page.
  
  
• Our yard is big and Brian cuts it using his equipment from work.  He is teaching Gavin to do some of the trimming with a push mower, though, or to touch it up on weeks when the grass is growing out of control. Owen is begging to learn, too!
  
  
• We're playing host to a Sunday school party, a weekday brunch, and various visiting friends.
  
  
• We're taking an hour on random weekend evening when everyone is home to play a family game. Our current favorites are Big Picture Apples to Apples and Wits and Wagers Family Edition.
  
  
• And who are we kidding?  We're watching TV.  We are new to Amazon Prime and we've spent probably too much time exploring what's available for free on Prime Video.  

What are your summer plans?