Tornado

Right now
My house
looks like a tornado came through
Literally.
You know when you see those stories on the news where people are living in filth and squalor? And everyone is appalled and the children are taken away and the house is condemned?
Yep, that's us right now.

Ok-I admit-minus the animal feces and 10 poisonous snakes that roam free. It could be worse.
But, really all it takes it one day of ME doing nothing and this is what we get.
Please tell me mine is not the only house that looks like this some days? or weeks....:-)
Please.
It would make me feel better.

Sam and I fantasize about making really weird movies together-like Napoleon Dynamite movies. On days when our house looks particularly messy, we've talked about doing a commercial for a household cleaning tool that would work much like a powerful leaf-blower. Blow that thing around for a few seconds and Voila! The floor is clear and ready to be vacuumed. :-) Wearing really cool goggles, of course.

Today would be a perfect day to start that commercial.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I wanted to share this video that I came across today. Have you seen it, yet? It's great.
It hit me hard tonight.

I think it hit me because I'm feeling weary.
This pregnancy has been pretty tough for me.
Bertha is pretty crazy and funny, but in reality-having her around gets old....really...really...fast.
Basically, I would never want to relive these last few months, and knowing that there's 4 more months to go makes me want to sink to the floor in despair.

But I know I'm not alone. I know there are others out there, whether I am aware of them or not, who are going through stinky stinkin' stinky times. So, if you are one of them, then maybe this video will help you, too. Even if life is smooth sailing right now, it's still a great video.

For me, it helped me remember that as much as I hate to say it
sometimes-I need these trials. They are necessary. And if they just "POOF" went away, it might very well mess up the eternal scheme of things. I might not become who I need to become to gain my own salvation, or to help those around me gain theirs.

And having gone through this particular trial 4 other times, I can at least know that the joy of meeting our new baby eclipses all the misery.
It seems to me a pattern of the exquisite joy we'll feel when we get to meet our Savior again, knowing the afflictions are past, and the fight has been won.

Anyway, so here's the video.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Blog Stress

Ok-at the beginning I told you my blog wouldn't be all cutesy. But, I have to admit, I got tired of blah brown.
So, here's something new.

Unfortunately, doing this stressed me out. Nobody told me I'd have to change all my font colors and my template!!!
This is why I decided not to make it cutesy in the first place.

And then the whole time, I'm trying to pick a background that was different than what I normally pick. You know-branch out, something new!

I could hear my mom's voice, "Sigh. Your wardrobe needs more color. Why don't you ever pick anything with color?" I could hear my husband's laughter when I tell him our house needs more color and then I go out and buy something.....
You guessed it..
brown.

I can't help it. I love earth tones, I've always love earth tones, and I will always love earth tones. When it's easter and springtime, my blog might STILL be earth tones.

But, for now-I've been saved by the fact that it's fall and we are SUPPOSED to celebrate earth tones right now.

So, cheer for the cut and paste! It's done. I have attempted to be a little cutesy.

A few of my Favorite Things...

So, another nightmare is keeping me awake with disturbed feelings. Apparently, it's normal.
Don't you love how they call a lot of weird and unpleasant things "normal" during pregnancy? Nausea, hands tingling, horrible nightmares, headaches, depression, leg cramps at night, hating to eat what you usually love, and loving what you usually hate, and all you get is, "Oh-that's normal"
I knew I never liked being normal. I much prefer being weird.

Ok-but I need to stop! Because I'm blogging tonight to be POSITIVE.
To get my disturbed nightmare out of mind by listing some of " my FAV-o-rite things".


So here goes:

fast food

thigh high nylons when I'm pregnant

When I'm in the dairy/meat aisle of the grocery store, throw in a package of hot dogs, and Olivia yells to her brother 15 feet away (and thus all other customers in the dairy/meat aisle) "Mom's being lazy again!!! She just put hot dogs in the cart!"

fast food

When my kids know it's Friday (our day off) and they sigh, "I wish we were doing school today."

When my husband gets home from work, ask the kids what they learned in school today, and they say, "nothing."

fast food

Fries dipped in Dairy Queen ice cream

fast food

online Christmas shopping

When my husband gets home from work, asks me how my day was, and my face crumples up like a little girl who's been trying not to cry all day because someone hurt her feelings, and my husband quickly says, "I'll make dinner."
Sigh. Gotta love that guy.

When the guy at church who (every single time I get pregnant) asks me "You do know how that happens, right?" (as if being pregnant is a mistake), miraculously doesn't ask me this time.
Maybe it's because last pregnancy when he said that, I gave him a Bertha look and one of those fake "a ha" laughs.
Obviously, Bertha doesn't have a very good sense of humor.

any food I don't have to make

When I make it all the way to October before I do my annual "lock the keys in my car" routine and wait 2 hours for the tow truck guy to unlock my van. Tell my husband to get me a car-breaker-inner thing for Christmas. PLEEEASSEE!

fast food

When an apostle of God says that his kids used to say "Stop touching me!" and "He's breathing my air!!!" during scripture reading. There is hope, people! There is hope!

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens

"And then I don't feeeeeeel so Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad!"

Ok, so maybe this list would be better titled "Favorite Moments".

And I realize a lot of them were sarcastic. Sorry. That's Bertha. Or Sara on hormones.
And well....she's trying.

I am sincere about the fast food! and the thigh highs!

I feel much better now, don't you?

Guess I'll go back to sleep.

The Pattern Breaks

The nightmare test is still good. If you haven't heard what my nightmare test is, it's simply that I have nightmares when I'm pregnant, and only when I'm pregnant.

When I'm pregnant with a girl, it's a nightmare where I'm being attacked and am totally vulnerable. When it's a boy, I am very aggressively defending myself against attackers-you know, like killing people. Yes, they are fun dreams, let me tell you.

So, very very early on, I had this nightmare where it was kind of questionable what the gender was, but I thought it was a girly nightmare. But, then I had two very obvious boy nightmares.
(The last one of me single-handedly wrenching a gun from a school-shooting maniac-I'M A HERO!)

But I was kind of in denial because history shows it should be a girl, right?

So, our perfect GirlBoyGirlBoy pattern will be broken by the arrival of our next munchkin.

Yes, it's a boy. And he was very obvious about it and was even pointing at his gender with his right hand. I'd post the picture, but somehow that didn't seem like the thing to do.?

I have to admit, I am a little befuddled. I was totally into the alternating baby clothes thing, and to think that I'll be pulling out the baby BOY clothes a mere 22 months after using them for the last baby just kind of blows my groove.

But, he's healthy and we are of course, thrilled. And as my husband pointed out, our boys have a been a lot...uh...easier to deal with... so far... so this is a good thing.

Now, if only we could agree on Boy names.

And no, Bertha will have no say in naming the baby. She votes for Yugert Bilth. Ugh!

Crazy Money

Sometimes I think my husband is crazy. And sometimes he is. Aren't we all??

We are soooo well matched that sometimes we are quite opposite in our thinking. For instance, one of us tends to be cynical and distrusting and paranoid, and the other one is like, "la la la! All is well-trust everyone."

Want to guess who is who??? :-)Ha ha

Anyway, so recently my husband took out half of our 401K to deposit temporarily at our Credit Union until he decides how to better invest it. He's been buying silver. You know-the old-fashioned, actually made-out-of-silver coins. The ones that are worth something even if U.S. currency collapses.

Yes, that is the very fear that is driving his (what I deemed) madness. The potential collapse of the U.S. dollar.

Now, you might wonder that I'm not revolting against these wild actions. But, Bertha doesn't care about much...at all.

She tries not to make decisions...at all.. if she can avoid it..while she's Bertha.
And, you know, when it comes to financial matters, I'm usually like, "la la la. All is well-it's just money. Who cares?" I'm the kind who would probably just stash cash under my mattress if I didn't have a husband who would stop me.

So, anyway he goes to deposit this large check from our 401K at the credit union and it's sizeable enough that the manager has to come and verify it.

And out of curiousity the manager asked him why he was withdrawing so much from his 401K. He told her, "I have no faith in the future of the American dollar."

She said, "Oh, that's what a lot of people have said who have been coming in here. I've seen a lot of large checks like this in the last few months."

Whaaa???

You mean there are more crazies out there??? My husband is not the only one!
Or maybe
Just maybe....

He's not as crazy as I thought.

It got me thinking. And then I thought, what if it really happens? What if the dollar collapses? It will be another moment...yet another in a long list...of oblivious me saying to my crazy husband..."wow. I can't believe you were right! Thanks for saving our behinds, hon!"

You know that scripture, "every man who has been warned, should warn his neighbor"? Well, I know that refers to sharing the gospel, but it's been running through my mind about this.
So, what the heck? It doesn't hurt to be prepared. At the risk of being seen as crazy-

Be Warned!

It could happen. Who knows?

New Poll

Ok, Bertha and I are not getting along. At.ALL. She basically ruins my life. She's annoying and irritable and she blurts out things that shouldn't be said outloud.
I hope anyone who is forced to interact with me can be patient, and overlook ALOT for the next 5 months.
For those of who live far away from me-count yourselves blessed. And if you call, be prepared. Because...

Bertha is a beast.

I know some people really seem to like her. My kids love that they get McDonald's fries and Dairy Queen ice cream a lot more. Lots of people love her because when they're having a really bad day or feeling inadequate, all they have to do is look at Bertha and they feel better about themselves. And I'm sure there's even some people who like annoying people who say things they shouldn't and are lazier than all get out. But some people, like me, can't stand her.

So, I decided to do a new poll. I got tired of looking at my "Should Sara have a fence?" poll, especially since we still don't have a fence.

I want the skinny. Your opinion. How do you feel about Bertha???

Be honest. Any answer you put will make Bertha mad, no matter what. So don't worry about offending her-You will.

:-)

Bertha's School

Bertha's version of home school:



It's best to get Math done first thing in the morning while their minds are fresh. So right after breakfast......


"Ok! Everyone pick up 20 pieces of food. Ready...Set....Go!"


(I know you're doing the math....3 X 20 = 60 pieces of FOOD!!!!!! Yes, it's possible, and there's still ample left for the vacuum.)

This activity can also count for P.E. since they are doing so much crouching and bending.


Great, now that math is done for the day....


Spelling

If child asks for treat right after breakfast...


"N-O! That spells No. Everyone with me...N-O!"


Of course, Bertha will promptly have her 8 am treat.

"Y-E-S! That spells Yes! treats for Mom."



Handwriting


Each child writes 3-10 times (depending on age),


"I will not tease my brother/sister."


or "My mother is the best woman in the world." depending on what kind of correction is needed.



Science


Have them inspect the dead flies as they clean the windows in their bedrooms.


History

Read the Bible story about Ananias and Sapphira who are struck down dead when they lie.
(Acts 5:1-11)

Try to encourage a strong, healthy fear of lying.


Well, that's a day!


What a wonderful feeling to know that today the children have been well-educated, each subject has been thoroughly explored, and in the comfort and love of their own home!


And it's only 9:30 in the morning!


That leaves lots of time for Bertha to lie on the couch reading like the lazy bum that she is. Too bad chocolate makes her want to puke. :-(
That's all that's missing.

Sara says, "If the school district calls, I'm going to tell them exactly what kind of teacher Mrs. Bertha is. These children are suffering because of her ridiculous ideas of what education should be!!!!"

Unfortunately, Sara is locked up, hands bound, mind fogged, and willpower extinguished for another 6 months.

(Evil cackling in the background......)

Bertha is BACK!

Who is Bertha? Well, obviously the woman pictured above is Bertha. Who is she?



I don't know.



I just googled "Bertha insane" and this is the first image that popped up, so there you go.



But, she's back!!!!!!!!



Bertha is back, and it's Bertha's fault that I haven't blogged in a long time.



It's Bertha's fault that I didn't shower until 1 pm today.



It's Bertha's fault that I eat McDonald's way too much!



Oh yeah, I never explained who Bertha is.



Well, if any of you all have read the captivating classic, Jane Eyre, you know about the crazy lady in the attic. But unless you've read Wide Sargasso Sea, the prequel written over 100 years after Jane Eyre, you don't know that crazy Bertha was not always crazy Bertha, but started out as lovely Antoinette.

Ok, sorry to bore you.

Bertha is nothing more than my adopted name for myself when I am pregnant, with child, "in that way".

Yes, so there's the news.

Bertha is Back!

And why am I Bertha when I'm pregnant?

Because from conception to birth, this fog takes over my brain and transforms all my normally charming personality traits:-) into weird, awkward, irritable, not so desirable traits. :-(

I'm telling you I am not myself!

I know, I know! Pregnant women are supposed to be glowing and exuberant with the new life in them. Kudos to the women who are. Because, in my book, pregnancy is a necessary evil, an unpleasant means to a glorious end. And hey-according to the scriptures, it's not meant to be a holiday picnic, so I'm not totally off my rocker.

Am I choosing to blame all my unfriendliness and laziness on this non-existent Bertha?

You better believe it.

After all, I am pregnant. I deserve McDonalds when I want it. I don't have to shower if I don't want to. I can eat cold cereal all day if I want to. I can have bad grammar if I want to.

(See what I mean??? This entitlement attitude is not Sara! It's Bertha!)

So, basically -watch out. Cuz, Bertha's Back. It ain't gonna be pretty. But, sometime around the middle of March, it will be over.

Yes, there is a deadline to the madness.

So, now that you've been properly warned....

Keep LIVIN' THE DREAM!

By the way, can anyone explain to me why McDonald's doesn't start it's lunch menu until 11am? I mean, come on! Can't they give a pregnant lady a cheeseburger at 10:30 in the morning if she wants one?????

Maybe I should call 911 and complain.

Better yet, I'll have Bertha do it.

Like Lambs

Even down to old age, all my people shall prove
My sovereign, eternal, unchangeable love.
And then, when gray hair shall their temples adorn,
Like lambs shall they still,
Like lambs shall they still,
Like lambs shall they still in my bosom be borne.

verse 6 of "How Firm A Foundation"

Once my Dad saw a picture of the Savior carrying a black lamb. Many times since he told me that he felt like that black lamb. (Of course, once I lovingly told him that he actually enjoyed being a black sheep:-)

Today when I was singing my all-time favorite hymn, "How Firm A Foundation", this verse made me think of my Dad. I'll always remember those gray temples that I kissed so many times in the last few weeks of his life, the whole experience that proved Heavenly Father's sovereign and unchangeable love, and the knowledge that once Dad's life was finally complete, he was indeed borne in the bosom of our Savior.

Thanks Dad, for making the hymn sweeter still.

Wallace Falls

Wallace Falls!

I love this hike. Olivia wanted to go hiking for her birthday today, and it was the perfect day for a hike. The great thing about this hike is that it's so dense with Washington foilage that I don't have to lather up 8 arms, 8 legs and 4 faces with sunscreen! Whoo-hoo! But, really-it's a gorgeous place, and I'm hoping these pics entice people to come visit us in Washington! Come on--you know you wanna!














I love the mossy trees. It's so not what I'm used to-being from Idaho desert. The spongy beauty gets me every time.















stair-step kids on the bridge



















Crazy Kids. Anyone want to take a shot at guessing how come my kids are so weird???
AIEE didn't think so...
















At one point, Emily fell behind. When I looked back, she was like this. She popped her head up for a second and said, "I need to pray." ????
















Me with Kevin in the backpack. I think he liked it. He fell asleep at the end...

Great quote. Just ignore the graffiti on the side

So, it was a great day. All that was missing was our manly man, missing in action as he works hard to wrap up work before a long-needed break next week.

And aside from several all-natural potty breaks and Sam calling a fellow hiker a "booger king", it was pretty uneventful as far as patience-trying-events go.

Oh-and it took my lame self like an hour to upload and arrange all these pictures!!!! So, I hope all you peoples love looking at them, because uh...things might be more sparse in the future.

Manners Backfired!

When I was pregnant with Kevin, my little Emily was very interested in large bellies. She would point out various pregnant and not-pregnant people, and ask if they also had babies in their bellies.

Eventually, I told her that it wasn't really nice to ask people if they had a baby in their belly, because if they didn't, it could hurt their feelings.

Well, let's just say that my little manners lesson backfired.

While visiting family this last month, my sweet Emily said to someone,

"It wouldn't be nice for me to ask if you have a baby in your belly!"

Sigh...

You gotta love innocent children-unrestrained in their speech and free from social boundaries!!!

Still Here!!

Nope, I haven't entirely given up blogging. I still stink at it, but that's not why I haven't blogged for a while.

I've been very blessed to be able to spend the last few weeks with my father before he passed away yesterday.

Since I don't really blog about my real life (just silly rantings), I will not elaborate.
Sorry!
If you care to know any more, give me a call! :-)

Or you could check out my sister's blog
http://www.nelsonhappenings2.blogspot.com

She's posted a little about the experience, AND she has pictures of my ultra-handsome and amazing Dad.

Anyway, just wanted to let y'all know I'm still here disgracing the blogging world!!

but, hey-did I just post a link that actually worked???

This could be progress.

I AM NOT WORTHY!!!!

Ok...so why did I ever start blogging?
I only wanted to start a blog so I could talk to myself!!!
But now I am feeling inadequate.

"A post is not a post without pictures" -quoth my ultra-blogger sister, Becca

Great!!! Now I have to put up pictures or it doesn't even count!

I know I'm a boring blogger.
And my links don't even work
That's so mean of me! to make people cut and paste the links.
Too
Much
work.
and I don't know how to put up videos onto my blog.
I know!
I stink.

Sigh....
Problem is...I don't really care that much.

I just wanted to blog so I could talk to myself in a more...socially..acceptable way. :-)
So, forgive me.

But, I think I will try adding pictures.
baby steps.

I can DO IT!~

Who writes your story?

How do you know when you have a budding author for a daughter?

Well, besides the fact that my almost 7 year-old is writing stories and drawing illustrations every spare minute she gets, something else happened today to remind me that yes, she is constantly thinking like a little author.

We were making Kevin's birthday cake, and she was going through all the numbered candles in the cupboard. She only found 1, 3, and 4, so she asked if we had other numbers. When she found some more she said, "Yes! We do have more!" Then, more quietly she said, "...she joyfully exclaimed."

It cracked me up! Her life is her story. It reminded me of when I was younger, and wished there could be a soundtrack for my life...sad, break-up songs, triumphant "Rocky" songs, 80's love songs, Chopin for the peaceful times, etc.

Wouldn't that be cool?

It would be like a built-in sensor for when something good is about to happen, or if something dangerous is around the corner....like a movie.

It also made me think about how we each write our own stories. (whether we're quipping, "she joyfully exclaimed", or not.:-)

We make choices every day, choices to determine what our story will be. Are we choosing to let someone else determine our emotions or are we blaming parts of our story on others?


Sometimes things happen that we didn't choose to put in our story, or we make mistakes that we'd rather not have in our story. But, how we respond to things we can't control can be part of our story, too.

Remember-it's not the obstacle that counts, but how you overcome it!

I love reading biographies about people who let God write their story. My recent favorites are "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom, "The Story of the vonTrapp Family Singers", and most recently I read about the Duggar family with 18 kids (and one on the way). Life can be pretty amazing, scary, and unpredictable when we let God write our story. But, God can make so much more of our lives than we can, no matter what we try to do to make a great life.

So...Who's writing your story??

Livin' the Dream!

Post-Easter Message

I know Easter is over, but I wanted to share this video anyway. Christ's resurrection can be celebrated year-round, right?

Every April and October my church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, holds a General Conference, where all members of the church, worldwide, come together to listen to words from the Apostles and Prophet of our church. This video is a combination of one of the Apostles' talks, and clips from some videos made by my church in the past.

It's a wonderful Easter message, and it was also one of my favorite talks from this last Conference in April. Happy Watching!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpFhS0dAduc&feature=PlayList&p=A85B022D07632E2A&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=2

Introvert moms need movies!

Ok, most people know that I am kind of strict when it comes to how much, and what kind of movies I let my kids watch.

I really don't like them watching a lot of movies because HELLO! there are so many better and more wonderful things to do in the world than sit around watching the tube. (Thankfully, it's only movies I have to worry about, since we don't have TV channels)

Also, I don't know if anyone else's kids are like mine after watching movies, but my kids become like crazy bouncy balls after the overstimulation of a movie. And actually, my kids are already like bouncy balls, so why would I want them to become even more bouncier?!
Anyway, you get the point.

But, this week I have gained a new appreciation for movies' place in my life.

This week I have also been reminded of something I forgot about myself. I am an introvert. Let me tell you my definition of an introvert before you imagine up that I am some shy, hermit person.

What I mean by introvert is someone who turns inward to process thoughts and events. An extrovert, on the other hand, are those people who like to talk to other people to process information. You know. When you're trying to make a decision, or wrap your mind around something that's happened, do you think about it a lot, write down your thoughts, or do you talk to 3 different friends about it?

I'm sure we all can think of both introverts and extroverts whom we know and love. It's good to know what your spouses, family, and friends are, too.

For instance, my 6 year-old extrovert loves people and gains energy from being around other people. GAINS energy. I guess I can't imagine her gaining energy when her energy level is already 150% at all times. But, really, it's good for me to plan playdates for her because she loves people.

My 4 year old introvert loves his friends, too. But, after 2 hours of playing with friends, he's like a grouchy bear. He needs to be alone for a while. Even 5-10 minutes, and he's back to cuddly bear.

So, what does all that mumbo jumbo have to do with movies??


Because with my 4 kids, I NEVER HAVE ANY QUIET, ALONE TIME TO PROCESS ANY INFORMATION UNLESS THEY ARE WATCHING A MOVIE.

Hey-maybe that's why my brain seems fried half the time. No time to process information, let alone remember information! Great! I'll just blame my air-headedness on that!


So, no more wishing I lived 100 years ago, when there weren't any movies, so I wouldn't have to hear my kids beg for more movies.
NOpe!

I am happy to be living now.

Except, 100 years ago, I would probably have more than 5,000 sq. ft of land that I could send my kids out to frolick in without worrying that some psycho would come take away my kids.....

But, I'm going to try not to think about that.

Happy to be living now.

Livin' the Dream...lovin the movies.

Happy Sabbath!

To celebrate a beautiful Sabbath afternoon, I'm going to write about my favorite hymn.

"How Firm a Foundation"
If you want to look at the whole text, here it is:

http://library.lds.org/nxt/gateway.dll/Curriculum/music.htm/hymns.htm/praise%20and%20thanksgiving.htm/85%20how%20firm%20a%20foundation.htm#JD_Hymns.85

There's a video on Youtube of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing an amazing arrangement of this hymn. (The Mormon Tabernacle Choir is my church's choir based in Salt Lake City)

Since I'm not smart enough to figure out how to post the video here, and since my smart husband isn't home right now Here's a link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sh9jziBLm8g

I love this hymn!! I love that it testifies of the great truth that our Heavenly Father will not give us anything in life that we can't handle. The fire will not consume us. It's designed to refine us. "As our days may demand, so [His] succor shall be." What great promises. And since we've sought refuge with Him, "though all Hell should endeavor to shake, we will not, we cannot desert to His foes".

Moments

Tonight I was laying down in Emily's bed while she "read" a story to me. Imagine a little chubby, rosy-cheeked, 2 year-old crossing her chubby legs, opening a book without pictures, and telling me this story in a sing-song voice:

"Once there was a toad, who went to his baAAck.....
Porch!
And there was a cup...it was his cup. And he drank the cup alllll goOOONe!
And there were strawberries and he ate them all uUUUUpp.
Then he looked at his tongue, and it was red.
He said, 'My tongue is all reEEEd!'
And he said, 'Wait a second! I don't like strawberries!'
And he said, 'yuck!'"

Sigh....
moments like these help me forget the other not-so-pleasant moments.

Livin' the Dream!

Move that scale!!

Come on, girls! You can do it! Move...that...scale!!

Ok-that doesn't make any sense to you?

Let me explain. Recently, I moved my bathroom scale from my bathroom down to our garage. Why?
It all started one week when the garbage men wouldn't take my garbage. Because it was unbelievably stinky with 50 poopy diapers? Noooo. Because it had hazardous waste...like poopy diapers? Nooo. Guess again!
Because it weighed too much. !
Oh-ok, so I'm supposed to weigh my garbage every week??

Now, to prevent anyone from thinking I dislike my garbage men-I don't, and I totally understand that they are hefting heavy garbage all day, every day. I love them ! We've even left cookies for our garbage men before! Go garbage men!

But, couldn't they have taken it and left a note saying-"please weigh your garbage from now on.. we won't take anything over 60 lbs."

(My garbage that week was 63 lbs. by the way:-) I think it had something to do with my husband putting a big, heavy, metal rod in the bottom that he had found on the side of the road.

So, thus-my bathroom scale is now in my garage. But, you know-how liberating is that? I care more about weighing my garbage than my post 4-kids body!
I think everyone should move their scales to their garage!

Go girls! You can do it!

Thank You, Montessori!

"Montessori is an educational method characterized by the self-directed activity of the child." Straight from Wikipedia for you!

I really don't know much about Montessori, that's why I had to get my info from Wiki.
But last Friday, my friend, Jenna put together a little presentation for our monthly Homeschool CHAT.

It was really cool, and I got lots of ideas for entertaining my 2 year old while I try to focus on the older kids. One idea I could try right away without buying or making anything was this:

On a tray, have a bowl of dry beans, an empty container, and a scoop. Child scoops beans from bowl into empty container, and back again if desired.

HA HA! Crazy, huh? Well, guess what??? It worked! I got a whole 1/2 hour of quiet out that activity!

Thank you, Montessori! And thanks, Jenna, for sharing!

Who woulda thunk? BEANS!

Livin' the Dream

Why is my blog called "Livin' the Dream", you ask? Or maybe you didn't ask...Either way-I'm going to tell you! Every once in a while, amidst the screaming, and laughter, and other such hub bub at our home, my husband will say, "So, Sara. Are you livin' the dream?" And (almost always), my answer is "YES!" Honestly, growing up, I never pictured myself homeschooling 4 kids at the age of 27, but I LOVE IT! Even on bad days, I can say-"I'm livin' the dream". This is the life I've chosen, and I'm choosing to love it every (well, Ok-) almost every step of the way.

Target, trusty Target!

Ok, so I have to give Target credit…for helping me remember why it is that I never take my kids anywhere!

All we had to get was socks for the troops, and shoes and underwear for Emily. Fun stuff, I know. It took 1 1/2 hour. Let me share my experience.

Stop #1 the Sock section. Right when we stop the cart, Olivia has to go to the bathroom. Back to bathroom we go. "Emily and Sam- Why don’t you go to the bathroom while we’re here?" “No.” They assure me they don’t need to go.
Ok, back to socks. Finish at socks. Move on to…

Stop #2 Shoes for Emily. After she tries on a few pairs that I wouldn’t buy, like Dora clogs and sparkly Dorothy-Wizard-of-Oz shoes, and somehow avoiding trying on anything I’ve picked for her to try on, Emily says, “ I peed!” (which means, “I need to pee!” in Emily language)
Back to the bathroom again. But-hey-I’m a veteran mom-I’m still doing good, haven’t lost my cool.

Back to shoes for Emily. She actually tries on some I would buy for her, and we’re almost done when, “I pooped!” This time, from my 4 year old son. Which actually means, “I pooped”, not I need to poop.

Back to the bathroom Again!! Now I’m in Target with two underwearless children. One-because he pooped, and the other, because she somehow went through 12 pairs of underwear in 2 days, and I didn’t have time to do laundry before leaving for Target. (where we will purchase more underwear) Do you think 18 pairs of underwear will be enough???!!!
We shall see…We shall see.

Livin’ the Dream!