By the time you read this, my family will have been on the road for many hours, yearning to arrive at our southerly destination.  The kids will have been awoken from their slumber in the wee hours of the night, nestled into their seats, and lolled back to sleep by the humdrum of highway driving.  This is the way my husband and I like to roll.  Get an early start and get a few hours in before the kids become awake and needy! They will have rested for a bit and then become bright-eyed awake, … [Read more...]

My little June baby does not fit many of our hand-me-downs, so I am getting to buy some baby boy clothes for the first time in about 10 years!  I love Carters for cotton basics that wash and wear well, and I love that you can often buy them on sale and gain coupons for the next purchase, I think they are doubled on Tuesdays, but I am going to check before I purchase. Anyway, I just got an email that baby things are 50% off there, and then I clicked through and saw this bundle.  I can't copy … [Read more...]

If you know me, you know that I love a good excuse to declutter.  I have been thinking over the past few days about whether I would gear up for the now-traditional 40 bags in 40 days, a major Lenten decluttering project.  As I looked around my closet this morning, I realized that I need to take this in a slightly different direction.  After 4 years of valiant decluttering (and a fun basement flood to help us along), I think that we have moved past the point of needing to pitch the things that … [Read more...]

Take February, add cold, add homebound children, subtract sunlight, subtract social outlets, stir it all up and what do you get? Moms living on the edge. We're cold, tired, overworked, under socialized, and downright cranky.  We go through the motions every day and try to keep it together, but something is missing--our spark, our lightness, our motivation?  We're missing that good feeling we get when we are taking on the world and conquering it well; when we are out and about and … [Read more...]

I have to admit to being the builder who wrote the email with a subject line: I'm not whining, but... As you can imagine, that email contained some whining, but I don't want to spend too much of my time just whining and surviving, so I am trying to think of things that have made some winter days better than others. 1.  Grapefruit.  This wonderful citrus is in season right now, and it feels and tastes like a burst of sunshine every morning.  I cannot tell you what a difference it has … [Read more...]

Last year was the first year since I was 7 years old that I didn't ski at all.  The timing of my pregnancy was such that I was out for the entire season.  I feel as though the Lord is being very kind to me right now, because that baby is so easy that we can work skiing around him.  My daughter can push his stoller around the lodge while I teach his big brother, a sitter can happily keep him at home while I get in some runs of my own.  It is a miraculous gift to have an easy baby.  Today he … [Read more...]

At the school where I was educated, teachers were given a sabbatical every 7 years.  For a semester, with some financial support from the school, they could do something personally or professionally enriching away from the school community.  The idea was that they returned to school as better educators because of the time spent away.  Sometimes, they say, a change is as good as a rest.  I think that teaching, and homeschooling, are prone to burn out because the demands are relentless.  This … [Read more...]

Until recently, I have had a pretty laid back policy with regard to toy guns.  I didn't actively seek out any military style play for my children, but when they wanted a wooden musket from Colonial Williamsburg or a police costume with handcuffs and a gun, I didn't object.  My mother bought marshmallow shooters one Christmas (a big pain, in the end, because they shoot marshmallows everywhere!).  Nerf guns are popular in our circle of boys, and we've had several in our house, though they … [Read more...]