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!