It's That Time of Year Again!

Daylight Savings Time has come, and the forecast for the week at my house is temperatures in the mid-70s.  That means it's time for our semi-annual seasonal clothes swap!  With 6 kids, this takes a bit of time, so I've carved out several days this week in which we'll work on it.  Thankfully, a few years ago, I established a good system that works for us (many, many thanks to Michelle from My Blessed Home for the inspiration!), so it really shouldn't take too long and I can still get school done while we work.   The biggest part is going to be doing all the laundry beforehand, so I don't miss anything!

I've also found that my younger ones tend to have a *lot* more grow-into clothes than the older ones.  In fact, I usually end up with a shopping list for the older ones, and an overwhelming mass of clothes for the littles!  What I've started doing for the littles, is once it's been determined which clothes fit for the season, they (or I, depending on the age of the child), pick out about 5-7 outfits to keep in their room... the rest go back into the box!  That way, there isn't an overwhelming amount of clothes for the child to try to manage (ending up with clothes strewn all over the room, or perfectly clean clothes that end up in the dirty laundry, and so on).  And, if a pair of jeans gets a rip in them, or a bad stain on a shirt, I can just find a replacement in their box!  Murphy's Law at my house is, if I let a child have ALL the jeans that fit at one time, ALL the jeans that fit will end up with holes.  So, I keep some nice and fresh in storage!

My dilemma this year is, for the first time ever, there is no little boy following behind... so there are now boxes of little boy clothes all the way up to 2T that no one is wearing!  I am going to do a big sort and purge of them, just to cut back on some of the overwhelming amount of clothes there are.  I actually have the sneaking suspicion that the newest little one to come will be another boy, BUT, now is as good a time as any to get those clothes really organized and ready. 

Girl clothes are a totally different story!  We have been so blessed with generous amounts of clothing for Miss Rachel, and I've tried meticulously to keep them under control and organized.  I think the hardest part is all of the "extras" that come with girl clothes!  Instead of just pants, shirts, and PJs for boys, she's got pants (which include capris and leggings), shirts, PJs, skirts, dresses, diaper covers, hair bows, and so on!  So trying to organize her dresser has been a challenge for me.  I wouldn't trade it for the world, though!

Is anyone else working on the seasonal clothes swap?  Do you have a system that works great for you?  I'd love to hear about it!

"Not" Back to School Blog Hop: School Room Week

This week at Heart of the Matter Online's "Not Back to School Blog Hop", the highlight is school rooms.  The way our house is set up (and probably the way in which I homeschool), we don't have one designated room for school - it happens all over the house!  That means that our decor tends to reflect that - our main room accents include bookshelves, wipe-off boards and maps!

Here's a peek into our school rooms - oh, and I didn't do any special clean-up before taking pictures - I'm keeping it "real" here! ;-)  Consider yourself warned!

This bookshelf is in our front living room.  It holds 4 Sonlight Cores, preschool and math manipulatives, and other miscellaneous homeschool and non-homeschool books. Oh, and a BB gun and remote controlled helicopter.  This is a houseful of boys, afterall!

The dining room, where the big kids do their independent work.  The bookshelf holds art supplies and paper, and other "stuff".  See my easy-to-put-away school boxes?  Notice they are not actually put away?  Yeah, I know.

The wipe-off board in the dining room, where we do our spelling.

The eat-in nook in the kitchen.  Notice lovely aforementioned wipe-off board and map decor.  We usually use this wipe-off board for memory verses and science.  And keeping track of who loses Wii time due to door slamming.

Another view of the kitchen.  The dresser to the left holds, well, junk.  Actually, it has CDs, plus alot of artwork that needs to be sorted and corralled.  The plastic drawers to the right hold wipe-off markers, coloring books, magazines for cutting up, and other random art supplies.  The basked holds some kitchen rags, always good to have in quick reach for spills!

This is our back living room, which is open to the kitchen.  Again, the map look.

The main couch, where I read to the littles and also do History and Read-Alouds with the big kids.  This is across from the fireplace pictured above.

The same couch, different view.  A bookshelf!

The love seat that holds the dog and some laundry.  No, that's not it's actual purpose, but it does do that frequently.  Our end table is decorated with legos, of course.  Isn't everyone's?

A close up of the basket next to the main couch.  It holds 6 weeks worth of Sonlight stuff, for easy access.

This basket is next to the love seat, and holds our P 4/5 books.

This is the computer desk.  We had a bigger one and I thought downsizing would help me keep it cleaner.  I was wrong! 

Well, that was the grand tour! Thanks for stopping by and having a look at my school rooms home!  Be sure to check out others at the Not Back to School Blog Hop!

7 Quick Takes Friday - Volume 9

I thought I'd start off with a little exercise update.  It's been exactly a month this week since I started exercising regularly again. I've been alternating strength training days with running days, 5-6 times a week.  It's going well - making the commitment and sticking with it has been really good for me for more than just the physical fitness aspect.  I have not lost any weight, but I can definitely tell that my body shape is changing!  That's really encouraging!  And I am feeling *so* much healthier in general.  It's incredible the difference a little activity can make!

The Lord has been working on me a lot lately. Which is always good, but can get a bit... uncomfortable, too! The big theme for me recently is my habit of being a "people-pleaser".  I have realized a few things about being a people-pleaser - first, that the title is way too "nice" sounding.  Really, what people-pleasing is all about are two things - pride, and the fear of man.  Ouch!  Both of those things are talked about pretty strongly in God's Word, and not in "nice" ways.  Also, the habit of people-pleasing has caused me to chase after the wrong things, and even allow those closest to me to be put in situations that were not the best for them, all because I've wanted to "fit in" or not "rock the boat" at times.  What the Lord has shown me has been very, very humbling - but in a good way.  I want to be true to Him, and not worried about trying to jump through hoops to win other's approval, or worried what others will think of me.  I've allowed those fears to control my life for far, far too long.  My faith and worship must be in God alone, not my own ego!  I'm so thankful for His faithfulness!

I thought I might mention a program I ran across  - The Daily Home Planner from Organized Mom.  I actually don't have any kind of Household Managment Binder or Homsechool Planner that I've found works for me... but this one just might be what I've been missing!  For one, it is digital, rather than physical - not taking up space somewhere other than the computer's hard drive, or internet land somewhere.  Second, I am in love with the meal planning feature.  Really - that alone is enough to make me want to try it, even if I never use any other aspect of it.  Long ago I asked my husband if there were some way to create an automated menu/grocery list system, and he said "Of course!" but neither of us actually knew how.  Thankfully, others have thought of the same thing and are generous to offer that service to others!  Of course, the other aspects are useful, to.  And as opposed to print planners and management systems, I wouldn't feel as if I were wasting something if I didn't use it.  Does that make sense?  I hate staring at blank pages and not knowing what to do with them!  Or having sections of a binder that are empty!  I'm just weird like that!  Anywho, I'm considering looking more into this Planner.  Has anyone reading this tried it?  I'd love to hear others' thoughts, whether you've tried it or not!

We have a miracle plant growing!  Others who know more about gardening might not be so impressed by this, but we all are very excited about our special plant. (I am excited about the fact that anything grows under my care to begin with - that alone is a practical miracle!) A few weeks back, there was a storm that came through with some really strong wind.  One of the branches of one of our tomato plants got partially snapped during that storm.  I kept an eye on it, and it looked like the stalk was just going to scar over and be OK.  But the weight of the branch was just too much, and it soon showed signs that the branch was dying.  However, when I looked closely at the branch, I noticed these little nubs appearing along it:

The rest of the tomato plant didn't have these nubs, only the broken branch.  Then it sort of crossed my mind that those nubs looked like little baby roots trying to grow!  It was as if the dying branch was trying to get it's own water, since it was effectively separated from the main stalk and root source.  So I had an idea - I figured, why not just cut the branch off, and replant it in a different pot?  It's going to die anyway, but maybe, just maybe... it will grow it's own roots and live!?  So I took the plunge and cut the branch and replanted it in a different pot.  The first week and a half the poor branch was definitely looking dead.  It's leaves were wilted and withered, and it just looked really pathetic.  But then... one day I noticed that it didn't look so wilted anymore!  After a few more days, I was certain - the branch was going to live!

And the best, most exciting part?  Not only is it alive.. but...

It's growing fruit!!!  Does that make you think of anything?  It's such a cool little example of what God does for us - takes us, when we are dead in our sins, gives us new life... and then bears fruit in that newly restored life!  So awesome!

The boys are doing  fun new Bible Study, from Quiet Times for Kids.  It's a 6-week study on the Armor of God, and - get this - it incorporates Legos!  How cool is that?  Each week they are to make a diorama using legos (and other props) to depict a verse they liked from that week's study.  And, there's a contest, too!  The boys are so excited about it!  And let me just say, the Bible Study is not a "fill-in-the-blank" simple little study.  It's a very in-depth study, and it asks great questions for the kids to be thinking about how to apply the verses they're reading to their own lives.  I've been impressed by how thought-provoking the questions are, and the discussions the study has generated!

I am needing some opinions - care to share yours with me?  Here's the deal - the kids range in age from 10.5 on down to 5 months.  We have three different sized blocks in the house - Mega Blocks, Duplo Blocks, and (of course) Legos.  The littler ones of my crew spend most of the time with the Duplos, and the rest of the crew loves their Legos.  When I only had littles, the Mega Blocks were all the rage!  But as we've transitioned to Legos... the Mega Blocks have fallen to the wayside. So I'm wondering if I should just find a new home for the massive amount of Mega Blocks we have.  Or, should I hold on to them, just in case?  Can babies play with Duplo blocks as easily as Mega Blocks?  Does the Mega Blocks size matter in, like, child development and hand coordination or anything?  I guess what I'm asking is - is there any good reason to keep the Mega Blocks around for Rachel and any other possible littles we might be blessed with?  Thoughts anyone? 

Earlier this week, I had a slight dilemma. I had to nurse Rachel and I knew she was needing a nap.  Unfortunately, my three oldest children, who usually help keep law and order while I'm nursing Rachel to sleep in her room, were outside playing.  Only the two youngest were in the house.  The two youngest also happen to be the two loudest and two neediest of the bunch (it comes with the "youngest" title).  I told them before going into her room "Guys, I'm going to put Rachel to bed, I need you to be good and quiet while I'm in there!" but had little hopes of that actually coming to pass.  However, as the minutes went by and Rachel successfully fell asleep... there was peace and quiet.  Which made me nervous!  However, when I came out of her room, this is what I came upon, and just had to capture it!

To add to the miracle, there were no pencil marks outside of the paper! ;-D  I love when I catch my boys being so "brotherly"!

I don't know if this week's Quick Takes actually qualify as being "quick" - apparently I had more to say than I first expected!  Thanks for taking the time to come by and stay a while! Have a wonderfully blessed weekend!

Homeschool Assignment Sheets

I've been wracking my brain for a good way to organize all of the older kids' homeschool assignments.  I needed a way to write down their assignments for the week for each subject, which was easy enough, but I also wanted a way to document that each assignment had been completed, checked, and reviewed.  On top of that, I also have been having trouble keeping track of the other work that the kids do - work on the computer, as well as work that requires one-on-one time with me.  I felt like I was trying to juggle too many things mentally. So (with some inspiration from the planners at DonnaYoung.org), I finally came up with an assignment sheet that meets my needs!  Here's a peek!
Assignment Sheets 2011-2012

At first glance, it's pretty basic, but I wanted to explain a few things.  First, the letters and squares at the bottom of each column.  At our house, the kids do some of their work independently, then I check it, but Michael is the one who reviews it with them in the evenings.  We were having trouble keeping track of if the work had been checked and/or reviewed, and that was making things a little chaotic.  So, at the bottom of their independent work assignment squares, there are 3 check boxes:

• The first "C" is the checkbox the kids mark when they've completed the work.  
• The next "C" is the box I check when I've finished checking their work.  
• Finally, the "R" box is what Michael uses to mark that he's reviewed that assignment with the kids. 

The work that doesn't require checking or reviewing (computer work, or work that they're doing with me directly) just has one check box for "completed". It might sound complicated, but it's really not (it just takes a lot of words to explain!).

I also love having ALL of their work listed out in front of me, so I can keep better track of what's getting done each day. It definitely keeps our routine running smoothly, instead of me always wracking my brain trying to figure out who's supposed to be doing what on the computer, or which lesson I'm doing with whichever child in Spelling, and so on... you get the picture!  My brain can only handle so much overload!

Since this is an Excel spreadsheet, I can either enter in their assignments on the computer and print it out, or, I've left enough room to print it out blank and write in the assignments by hand.  I actually prefer doing it by hand and in pencil, in case adjustments need to be made!

Thankfully, I'm not in a state that requires strict documentation of each lesson and day's work, but even so, I think I will keep these on hand for "just in case"... and also to be able to look back and see where we've been and what we've accomplished over the year!

I am, admittedly, a little bit of a spreadsheet nerd.  I've always loved them!  But it really is so helpful!  Feel free to copy this for your own homeschool use, if you'd like! :-)

WFMW - Homeschool Organization

In my "Glimpse into Our Week" post, there were a few pictures of one of our organizational systems that caught the attention of my friend, Heather! (Hi, Heather! *waving*) She asked, so I thought I'd share a little more about it.

My two oldest boys (ages 10 and almost 9) have several subjects that they now do independently - these are Math, English, Reading, and Bible Study. (OK, just for full disclosure - Isaac no longer does the formal reading curriculum, but has Handwriting which he does independently. Ezra struggles a bit with handwriting so he does a different program, which requires my involvement. Anywhoo...)

Since they started independent work, they've had their own totes to keep their work in:

I used to keep all my Teacher's Manuals lumped together in a crate (those plastic milk carton crates are my best friends!). When it came time to check their work, I'd have to dig through their totes to find their workbooks, and then dig through my crate to find the corresponding Teacher's Manual. It wasn't a very efficient process, and often just lead to me leaving everything out on the table all the time. Which is efficient, until you want to use the table for something else... say... eating, perhaps? So, I brainstormed for a better idea.

Then, while walking through the office supply section of a store one day, I had one of those "lightbulb" moments! This is what I came up with that is now our current system - much neater and more efficient than the old one!

Each boy still has their tote to store their books and notebooks in. When they've completed their work, they put the completed work into their magazine holder. They each got to pick which color they wanted, and then I got a second one of the same color and use the second one to hold the corresponding Teacher's Manuals.

So when I need to check Ezra's work, I pull out his magazine holder, pull out my matching magazine holder, go through each workbook, meet with him to go over it, and then he puts his workbooks away in his tote again, leaving his magazine holder empty until the next day. And I put away my Teacher's Manuals. Tada! Nice and clean and organized! And if I haven't gotten a chance to go over any work, or have to stop part way, I can tell because those books are still in the magazine holder. Kind of like the "in" and "out" boxes they used to have in offices. (Do they still? I figure it's all electronic now!)

Oh, and I'm sure you've noticed that extra magazine holder - the (not so) inconspicuous black one? That one holds Teacher's Manuals for subjects that they need my one-on-one attention for (such as Spelling, Writing, and Ezra's handwriting). They can't do them by themselves, but they're also not subjects we do as a group, so I keep those Manuals separate, as well. (Also, those blue boxes in the middle are used for Spelling). Clear as mud? Hopefully this all makes sense! ;-)

So... there you have it! That's what works for us in keeping some of our homeschool things reasonably organized and flowing smoothly. Check out what other Works for Me Wednesday posts at We Are That Family!

WFMW - 3 Tips for a More Efficient Homeschool Day

It has been 3 months since Rachel's birth, and I am slowly getting back into the swing of homeschooling. We did "homeschool lite" for the first few months after her birth - only doing a few subjects a day (or week!), but now we are back into our full-time schedule, and after a few false starts, it is going wonderfully! There are lots of things I can think of that can affect how smoothly a homeschool family's day runs, but I wanted to highlight the top 3 that I recently implemented that seem to have the biggest effect in our house:

1. Everyone must get up at the same time! For us, that time is 7:30 am. I get up earlier than the kids, but all kids must be up and getting their day started no later than 7:30. That way, we can all eat breakfast together and get started on schoolwork without being held up by stragglers. This has proven to be the only way to get our day started on the right foot. If everyone just gets up whenever, I feel like I'm making breakfast for 2 hours and school is haphazard to say the least! So everyone getting up on time, at the same time, has dramatically made our day more efficient. (This rule does NOT apply to Rachel - I let her sleep as late as she needs to!)
   


2. I must stay off the computer. Must. Other distractions are eliminated as much as possible as well (phone calls, etc).


3. We cannot leave the house! Yes, I know one of the many benefits to homeschooling is the flexibility - being able to do school when and wherever we please. However, for a while, I was running errands several days a week - and trust me, hauling 6 children to a store for 3 items is not a "quick" jaunt! Just the time it takes to get everyone ready, organized, out the door, into the car, and so on is mind-boggling - what could have easily been a 15 minute trip solo turns into an hour or more! It was really eating up our day. So now, I run shopping errands on Sunday afternoons or in the evenings, and we do field trips, nature walks, library trips and doctor's appointments on Fridays, which is a very light schoolwork day for us. For me, in order to really keep things running smoothly at home... I have to be at home!

Of course, in these rules, there has to be flexibility - taking a phone call when it's an urgent matter, leaving the house to bring a meal to a new mother, letting a sick little one sleep in longer... but I've learned that I can call myself "flexible" and really use it as an excuse for laziness and chaos! So overall, having these three guidelines in place are really necessary for us. They have made our homeschooling day soooooo much easier and efficient!!

I'd love to hear your thoughts! What things do you find most affect how efficiently your day runs? Please leave a comment and share! Also, check out other WFMW posts at We Are That Family!

Redeeming the Time - How to Manage Internet Time

I've confessed it before - I struggle managing my time online. It seems so simple - just stop spending so much time in front of the computer, right? Goodness knows I've got many, many other things to do with my time! However, it hasn't been that easy for me. A quick check of my email turns into replying to a friend, checking in on a thread on a message board I belong to, reading the other threads on the message board, popping in on Facebook, reading a blog I enjoy, following a link from that blog to another blog... and so on!

Suddenly my day is gone, my children are unruly, I'm irritable, the house is a mess and dinner isn't ready! How does that even happen?! I know I am not the only person who gets sucked in like this, so I wanted to share what I've done to combat it and control it.

First, I've prayed. I've confessed it as a sin to the Lord. Yes, I said sin! No, there's nothing in the 10 Commandments that says "Thou shalt not be online all day"! But, God has given me very specific responsibilities - to raise and train my children, to keep my home, to love and respect my husband - and all of these things require careful management of my time and energy. Not to mention the numerous scriptures regarding idleness! So, to waste my time online instead of being about His work IS a sin.

After confessing and acknowledging it for what it is, I've prayed for help to overcome this sin. One of the fruits of the spirit is self-control, and I know I need a big dose of it - but I can't obtain it without His help. Oh, yes, I can try to get it on my own accord, but ultimately, it always leads to failure. So I need His help, through the Holy Spirit.

Then, I've made myself accountable to my husband. I told him the struggle I've been having, and asked him to keep me accountable. Using a Firefox Add-on called Time Tracker, I am able to see how much time exactly I've spent online each day. And my sweet hubby can see it, too! And he can very gently, or not-so-gently if needed, remind me, scold me, or otherwise guilt me into being much more aware of where my time is going.

I'm going to go ahead and be real here - there were days when my online time logged in at anywhere from 4-6 hours in a day. HOURS! Now, it wasn't like I was sitting myself down for hours at a time staring at the monitor... no, it was just those "little checks here, little checks there..." and wow, did the time accumulate! So you see, when I say it was a problem... it was a problem.

The most drastic step I've taken has been to actually implement another Firefox Add-on, called "LeechBlock". This program allows you to block certain websites, block certain usage times, only allow certain websites and usage times, and so on. It's very versatile. So, I installed it and created parameters for myself - the internet is inaccessible to me from 7:30 am until 5:30 pm, with a small 15-minute break at noon. The kids can still access the sites they need for school, but that's it. If the temptation were to become too strong, I can even ask Michael to put a password on the program so that I can't access it to override my limitations! Thankfully, it hasn't come to that.

As the days have gone by with my enforced limited internet access, the Holy Spirit has also been doing it's work and curbing my appetite for screen time. Of course, the benefits of not spending all my time on the computer has shown up in all areas of my life, as well as my family's. School is running much more smoothly, I'm able to be more consistent in training the children, not to mention the little fun things we're doing that we rarely did before because I thought I "didn't have time". I'm better about decluttering and staying on top of my chores, and meals are planned and ready on time! It's amazing all the time I have now - I feel such much less stressed and rushed all the time, because I'm not so distracted. Go figure!

I know the temptation and lure is still very real in my flesh, so I won't be letting my guard down for quite a while. But I also know that the Lord is on my side in fighting this battle, and with His help, I will overcome this! Thank you for letting me "be real" and hopefully this can help others out there who may share the same struggle!

7 Quick Takes Friday - Vol. 3

Over the past month, we celebrated two birthdays and have three more coming up in the next month! Mine was first :-) The day after Thanksgiving I celebrated my 31st birthday with Michael and the boys, and it was a wonderful, relaxing day. My big gift was a digital picture frame! I've always wanted one, but it was never one of those things I'd actually buy for myself, so it was the perfect gift. To be honest, though, I haven't even set it up yet - I have waaaaay too many pictures to go through and its really hard to narrow it down to my favorites! Speaking of pictures, here's one of me and the boys (goofy faces and all!) on my special day:

The next birthday in our house was another big one - Isaac turned 10!! It is so weird to think I have a child that is a decade old, into the double digits. He's growing soooooo fast! I think its going to be great, though - even though the challenges change as age increases, the blessings do, too. Isaac is such a helper, taking initiative to take care of things he sees needs to be done, and always eager to assist when asked. He's a voracious reader, and his appetite for books is hard to keep up with! While still young and carefree, his maturity is starting to peek out, and its such an awesome thing to think about what kind of young man he's quickly becoming. Here's his happy mug shot on the big day!

You know I've posted before about Motivated Moms and how much I love their inexpensive, easy-to-follow chore lists. Well... exciting news for those who are in the high-tech world, they've now come out with a Motivated Moms app for iPhone!! It looks so cool - the very features I wish I had on my paper list is available through the app - deleting tasks that don't apply, moving tasks to different days, that sort of thing. Here's a bit more info if you want specifics! The sad thing is, I don't own an iPhone. So for me, I'll be sticking to the regular pdf version for now, which is fine, since it has worked great for the past two years I've used it. But I can always dream of how fun it would be to have an iPhone and the new app!

School is going really well! I still love Sonlight, and we're finishing up our 16th week - already almost halfway done! My hope is to make it to 20 weeks before baby arrives, and then take a month or so off for some rest and recovery time. My biggest mistake is always trying to do too much too soon after a baby, which just ends up with me being exhausted, irritable, and burned out, so hopefully we can avoid that this time. Its been tricky trying to juggle our main curriculum choices with all of the neat things we've been able to review, but I'm practicing "going with the flow" and it seems to be working. All in all, this school year has been one of the easiest, most relaxed, but also productive, yet!

Speaking of homeschooling, I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but one of the reasons I love it so much is purely a selfish one - I *love* learning. And learning right along with my children is all the more awesome. I have discovered so much that I knew but had forgotten, or just never knew, by homeschooling. One thing that I've been loving is this year's science - Apologia's Exploring Creation with Anatomy and Physiology. Wow! I am so enjoying learning more about the amazing human body that God has created and given us! This week we've started on the cardiovascular system, and here's a fun project we're making to help us understand the components on the heart a little more:

Ok, so it doesn't look exactly like a heart, but come on, how can colored frosting, graham crackers, and marshmellows NOT be fun? And everytime I walk past our creation, I find myself repeating what the different parts are - "atria, ventricles, pulmonary veins..." (Oh, and for those who have noticed, yes, there are important parts missing - we are finishing it up a little at a time!) It is just so exciting to me to be learning this stuff! I don't know where my brain was during high school anatomy, but I'm absorbing all this stuff like a sponge. I love it!

I love this!

(HT: Fish in My Hair)

I've saved the biggest and (for me!) most exciting news for last, as a reward for those who make it this far ;-) Over the past few weeks, after much prayer and discussion, Michael has agreed that this baby can be born in the comfort and intimacy of our home!!! I have desired a homebirth for at least the past 3 pregnancies, but he has always been reluctant. I resolved not to ever nag him or try to manipulate the situation and had pretty much given up on the idea (although the desire never died). Out of the blue, I mentioned it in a casual comment a few weeks ago, and that opened up the discussion. He agreed to meet with a Certified Professional Midwife that lives nearby, and after the meeting spent another two weeks in alot of thought and prayer... and finally told me YES! I was floored, to say the least. And I'm so happy that the decision came about on his own accord, not because of any nagging, manipulating, or driving him crazy that I did. The years of my patient silence actually paid off, and I can't wait! It is making the arrival of our newest little one all the more exciting, if that's even possible. You can be sure you'll be hearing (reading) more about this new development over the next few weeks!

That's about it at our house lately! Thanks for stopping by :-)

7 Quick Takes Friday

I apologize that my blog has been so... neglected as of late. That little thing called "real life" has been flying by at the speed of, well... life! Which means that some less important things have fallen on the back burner, for example, blogging. I have had a few things I've wanted to blog about, none being especially post worthy on their own, so I'm joining in on Conversion Diary's "7 Quick Takes Friday" to do a little recap of life at our house lately!

Judah is now 19 months old!

He is as cute as ever! His vocabulary is increasing daily, and he now answers conversational questions, such as "How are you?" and "Did you sleep well?" I have no idea if he actually knows what he's saying, because his answers are always "good" and "yes", but its adorable none-the-less. When he has no words to say, he just makes a bunch of babbling noises with some "ummmmm..." pauses thrown in. (Also super cute, except during church.) He's growing up SO fast, and I know that I'm going to blink and he'll be speaking full sentences without his little squeaky voice soon. I'm going to miss these days!

(Bananas are his favorite snack!)

He ADORES babies. He will come running when he hears or sees a baby, just to look at it, hug it, rub its head, talk to it... this is all a very good thing, considering my next point...

I am now in my 3rd trimester! I haven't blogged about this pregnancy much at all, but all is going well. Uneventful is the way my pregnancies usually are, and this one is following suit. For which I am very thankful - I don't take it for granted! We don't know the gender of this baby and won't be finding out until arrival day, but I will admit that there are small, subtle differences about this pregnancy that make me wonder... (but I don't dare say it!). The anticipation is exciting! I would love to insert a cute belly picture here, but... I don't have any. None! :-( I'll have to take some before baby actually comes!

We are starting Week 12 of Sonlight's Core 3 next week, which means we'll be 1/3 of the way through our school year! I've been really trying to stay on track because I have no clue how much the arrival of #6 is going to have me sidelined, so I'm doing as much as possible now so that we'll be able to take as long of a break as we need. Its going great! Do I still love Sonlight? Absolutely. This is by far the easiest year of homeschooling I've had, and I'm "schooling" more kids than ever before (4th grade, 3rd grade, Kindergarten, and Preschool). I attribute alot of the "easiness" to the switch to Sonlight. Yay!

Just for an update on the shoe solution - it is working! Amazingly well!! There's been ONE case of misplaced shoes. Unfortunately, that did not happen on a day we had to run errands, but the culprit was required to wear the pink flip-flops for all outside play and chores that day. And that was torture enough for him, so the infraction has not happened again! My debt of gratitude again goes out to my dear friend and her husband who came up with the idea!

Want to see my new entryway organizer? It was hand built by my very own, sweet, hardworking hubby! He knew that I had been longing for some Ikea cubbies for a while, and took it upon himself to surprise me with these - which blow Ikea's out of the water!

I LOOOOVE it! Currently, the baskets are designated for: blocks, library books, co-op supplies, and shoes. There is one empty basket right now, but that will be put into use for hats, gloves, and scarves as the weather gets cooler. It is absolutely perfect!

I've discovered a small drawback to the "color-coding" system that many large families (such as ours) implement. All of my boys have specific color plates, cups, and bowls, which makes serving meals and clean-ups super, super easy. However, Judah has now developed color confusion! Everything that is red, he calls "Nay-nay" (his name for Nathan). Yellow is "Joel". You get the picture. So I've been taking the time to be super specific about colors - pointing out "red" things and emphasizing the word "red", etc. I don't think it will cause any lasting color identification disorder, but it is kind of cute. Which is pretty much like anything Judah does. Yes, I'm biased ;-)

Lest anyone think that I've forgotten that I have 4 other children besides Judah, here are some recent pictures from a disc golf outing (a very popular activity at our house). They're getting SO big! *sigh* I tell people that's why I keep having more! ;-)

Mr. Nate!

Joel in action (he's hardly ever NOT in action!)

Ezra lining up a shot

Isaac, just being Isaac :-)
(Can I add a note and say its unbelievable to me that my firstborn will soon be 10! Yikes!)

So that's about it in a nutshell. We're busy, busy, busy, enjoying God, living life, and loving one another. What more could I ask for? I am truly blessed!