The Early Bird Gets the Guitar

I thought I'd gotten up before the kids were fully functioning this morning.

I threw in a load of laundry. Ground some wheat...apparently the noise I made was a mere coverup for a more elaborate plan of Zachary's.

While I was getting breakfast ready I kept hearing guitar music and couldn't figure out where in the world it was coming from.

Until I walked in the boy's room - and found Rick's $800 guitar in Kaleb's crib.

I'm sure it just magically appeared there without a bit of help from anyone.

It Oddly Disturbs Me

I know that there are plenty of other things in life that should cause me more alarm, but had to take a picture of one thing that made my list today.

I know that it is a mere doll.

But when the kids were napping and playing today, I would come around the corner and jump, thinking somebody was there.

And it made me feel like I was being watched.

Which just greatly bothered me.

Grocery List by Aisle

Having a list to grocery shop (for me) is essential - and I hate wasting time wandering around the store for that one thing that was buried in a list somewhere, so I put together a grocery list grouped by catergories/aisles to help me out. And if it helps you out too, that's an added bonus!

If you would like to download the file, just click on the image and it will take you to the file and you can print off a copy for yourself!

Tiny Talk

Zachary came out after breakfast one morning, wearing just a pair of pajama shorts. He stood in front of me and said, "Look, Mom! These are my underwear!"

Me: "Those are not your underwear, those are pajamas. Are you wearing underwear?"

Z: "No. These are my underwear."

***Now the underwear questions begin***

McKenna: "Mom, why does Zachary wear underwear like ours?"

I'm assuming she means the likeness of the 'tighty-whiteys' to her underwear. Without going too much into the variety of underwear types, I said that there are differences and they are not the same.

Quiet pause. And then McKenna asks...

"Does Daddy wear your underwear?"

(No, dear. You can rest assured Daddy does NOT wear Mommy's underwear...and Mommy runs to hide to laugh at this one...).


_____________________________

McKenna has grown so much in her reading speed and comprehension over the last few months, and after she had read to us at dinner we were talking to her about her reading and complimenting her on how well she was doing.

She took it all in, smiling, and a few moments later said:

"Mom, when you were telling me how good I was doing reading...I think I was blushing!"

It was just too cute and sweet!

LeeLou Blog Giveaway

The ladies over at Leelou Blogs are giving away some great items over the next few days and have lots of free blog designs to share too!

Stepping Out

I have to admit it. I am rather proud of myself at the moment.

I stepped out of my comfort zone. And for me, that's the big time.

Before you get too proud of me, I'll let you know that it revolves around my ability to be "in control" of a situation. And generally when there are four children and paint involved, there seems to be a decided "lack" of control.


And I'm not so keen on that "lack".

Which is why my youngest has never touched fingerpaints. Well, that and his propensity to try and eat anything exciting that I give him to do.

So I stepped OUT of the comfort bubble, pulled all the painting goodies out of the closet and let everyone have at it. Waving around paint-covered fingers. Eating paint. Drawing each other pictures.


And I survived.

But now I need to wash my shirt, because that back-patting I did got a little paint back there, and we wouldn't want a stain to set in, now would we?

I Don't Have a Mac...

but this commercial just cracks me up (as do most of the PC/Mac commercials).

In Which I HUMBLY say thank you

Just so you know - I don't ignore you all when you comment. I do pop over, visit your blogs and have fun getting to know you.

And be polite.

But my grandmother would surely have my name written in her little black book right now (and I am quite serious about her having a little black book - REALLY) if she knew that I had been neglectful in saying "thank you" to those of you who have given me bloggy awards over the last few days weeks months. You might have even (gasp) forgotten - it's been that long!

It's truly not that I haven't appreciated them. And it's not that I'm ignoring you. I'm just plain forgetful at times. While I realize that there are sometimes requirements or tags along with the awards, please, please forgive me ... cause I'm doing good to finally get this post up! :)

I will grab onto the phrase "better late than never" and offer up my thanks for the following awards:

Mary at Not Before 7 gave me three awards - "Blogging with a Purpose" (back in February), and both "E for Excellent" and "You Make My Day" in July. If you haven't visited Mary before, you need to pop on over to her place. She has a great meme on Tuesdays called Tiny Talk Tuesday where everyone links to a post they've written about the crazy things that their kids say.


Or you just pop over and visit to laugh at all the things everyone else's kids are saying (and thank the good Lord that it wasn't YOUR kid!).


Mary also started her homeschooling her oldest two this year and started blogging about that too at Not Before 7 Teaches. I have SO enjoyed getting to know Mary over this last year (or more) through the blog world and sincerely hope that some day soon our paths will cross physically so that we can just sit and chat in person! (Mary - I do have your address now, so you just never know when I might show up...don't think I didn't save it!! hee hee).


Lindsay at The Whitcomb Family sent me the Smile Award. Apparently I make her smile...or at least the antics that go on in our house make her smile. Laugh. Snicker. C'mon - admit it! Lindsay is a mom to a cute little bug Sammy and a Redskins fan...which she is avidly attempting to instill in her son. She also has started up her own blog design site - Whitty Design (cute title, no?), so head over her way and check her out!

And Julie at Blessed With Five (who has the cutest blog design with that FROG!!) gave me two awards: Kreative Blogger - the graphic alone is adorable!! I am most certain that Julie gave me another one months back....but if you think that I can find the name of it...well, that's another story. Julie has a lot on her plate now - building an addition, keeping up with her kiddos...and yet manages to find time to blog about the goings-on in her life - sometimes several times a day!! She is wonderfully open about the many challenges that she faces with her kids, shares the hysterical happenings with her brood, and keeps us updated on the mouse population in her house.

Thanks so much ladies for the awards, for visiting my blog and for the friendships that we've all developed!!

Wordless Wednesday

Is Milk is Good for Your Bottom?

The other day while eating cheese at lunch, Zachary looked at me and asked, "Mom, why is milk good for your bottom?"

"Your bottom?" I sat there thinking and then he said, "Milk has 'calcibum' in it."

"Honey, it's not 'calcibum', it's 'calcium'. And it's good for your bones."

See...it's all in the pronunciation.

__________________________

The little man also turned four on Saturday and during one of his many birthday calls (this one to my mom) he was telling her all about how he was four now:

"I am four today. When I went to bed last night I was three, but when I woke up this morning I was four. (Pause) I don't know how that happened."

Head on over to Mary's for some more Tiny Talk Tuesday.

Homeschool Library Builder

Through being a part of the Homeschool Crew I was sent a link to a discount book website - and well, who doesn't like a good sale?

Homeschool Library Builder is focused on supplying affordable literature - and they are currently clearancing out a LOT of books for $1, $2, $3!! The site carries a variety of new and used, hardcover and softcover titles (sometimes overstocks). Their shipping prices are great too - media mail for a purchase up to $25 is only $4.50.

I've been browsing around the site today to add some books to my collection and have found some other great things about the site too:

• A Frequent Buyer Program: As a site "member" - i.e. providing your email, you receive a monthly newsletter that has sale information, lesson plan ideas and more. You also earn "book points" for each dollar you spend on their site. Fifteen book points = $1 off a future order. AND If you refer friends to the program you can also earn 45 book points!! yeah - you tell 'em I sent you over!!



• A handy search feature to search for books for books related to a specific curricula: Beautiful Feet, Sonlight, Five in A Row, Tapestry of Grace...very nice!!



• Ability to search for books by country/geographic region (which I am LOVING!!)



• Spotlight on the season: ideas and suggestions for the upcoming season that includes crafts, lesson plans and other resources.



• Fundraising opportunities - 20% of the fundraiser sales for your organization and they take care of all the orders for you!
  

I'm off to start digging through their bins, because the dollar bins and low shipping are calling to me right now (and yes, I have lots of books, but I have this ! Just wanted to pass along a great deal to you all!

Little Bare Feet

The weather has been absolutely amazing the last few days and the kids have been practically living outside.

Proven simply in one little picture.

I will be so happy when it's time for socks again.

In Which My Camera is Highjacked...Again

My son and his love for my camera may result in the untimely demise of said camera.

Especially since he keeps sneaking off with it and I don't realize it until I have a chance to upload pictures and come across things like this:

My co-op basket

My toilet - because I'm sure that was top on your list of "things to see while browsing the blogosphere today".

The Target sales flyer

A mysterious green netting

Little brother dressing up

And as for putting the camera up higher where he can't reach it? I'm not really sure that's possible, because Houdini-boy is figuring out ways to get into way too many things.

Better Homemade Bread

I swear to you that this is the "secret ingredient" in some of the tastiest bread.

Promise.

Because when our local store stopped carrying it and I tried something else, I thought that I had lost my touch in baking bread. It was only after talking to another friend (who also had used it) that I discovered that my "secret ingredient" was the key to the better bread. And I believe in it so much that I bought this stuff by the CASE.

Are you curious?

It's a dough enhancer called Better Bread Dough Enhancer by Kitchen Resources. Don't let other dough enhancers fool you - this one really delivers on it's promise for fluffier baked goods, enhancing natural flavor and increasing dough strength.

I promise.

And if you are interested in picking yourself up a case to share with friends or keep for yourself, you can order it for the best price and FREE shipping from Best Kitchen Machines (I'm not getting any kickbacks from this).

And before I forget (and in case anyone is interested), here is the recipe that I use for my bread. Just click on the image to download either of the recipe sheets.

Whole Wheat Bread Recipe {using a Bosch Mixer}

Whole Wheat Bread Recipe {using a Kitchenaid Mixer}

Just passing along a tip for you all, 'cause it is something that definitely works for me!

Those Pesky Grammar Rules

I knew those grammar rules would come back to haunt me, but didn't figure that my 7-year-old would be the one to happily point them out to me.

"Mom, there is something wrong with Kaleb's name. The rule is 'K comes before I and E, C before the other three: A, O, U.' His name should start with a 'C' not a 'K'."

Smarty pants.

Head on over to Mary's at Not Before 7 for some more Tiny Talk Tuesday.

I Know It's Here...Somewhere.

All these great pictures (well, of course that remains to be seen) that are stuck on my camera.

But do you think that I can find the cord that links my camera to my laptop? I'm just going to comfort myself by thinking that my youngest walked off with it somewhere.

'Cause the truth can be a little more painful.

Homeschool Blog Awards

It's that time of year again - time for the Homeschool Blog Awards. Do you have some favorite homeschool bloggers? Head on over to the Homeschool Post and nominate them as your favorite blog.

There are 24 categories to nominate your favorites for (including funniest, best thrifty homeschooler, best homemaking, etc), but you can only nominate one per category. If you'd like to learn more about the Blog Awards you can head on over to the Homeschool Post to read a little more - and while you're there, drop a few names in the hat too! There are prizes galore that are going to be awarded to the winners, and we all like free stuff!

Who Loves You?

Tonight Zachary was a little waylaid in having dinner because of a slight behavior issue (ahem). When he finally sat down to eat, long after the heightened emotions had relaxed, I crouched down next to him and asked, "Who loves you?"

He pointed his fork at me.

I asked again, "Who else loves you?"

He pointed his fork to his heart and quietly whispered something, so I tried to get him to repeat it. He repeated it a few more times and I finally heard, "Jesus."

With our older two there has always been a definite point or day that we can mark when they prayed and asked Jesus into their hearts, so I asked how he knew that Jesus was living in his heart. Zachary said that he had prayed and asked Him to come live there...but he did it all by himself and didn't tell us.

My next question was, "Did Jesus say anything to you when you asked Him?"

"No. He was here (pointing to his stomach and using his fork to trace a line up to his heart) and had to walk up here to get to my heart, so I couldn't hear Him."

The Forgetful Tooth Fairy

I don't know about your tooth fairy, but ours has been rather slack lately.

I mean seriously. Is it that hard to remember one little ol' tooth that was such a MAJOR deal in a child's life? A tooth that was talked about for hours on end. Shown to everyone within arm's reach.

Surely she heard the buzz of excitement. Squeals of delight. Knew the phone lines were hot with calls to grandparents and friends alike.

This is now the FOURTH missing tooth that she has completely forgotten to compensate for. Granted she has made three "on time" payments, but she is REALLY pushing it.

I'm having to make excuses for her too, and that's just not right. Things like: "Well, you just got a new comforter, so maybe she didn't recognize your room." or "You lost the tooth in another state, so perhaps that confused her."

And did you know that she sometimes even makes her monetary deposit during the DAY? It's true! She's shown up at our house at the oddest times - during breakfast, nap times...she apparently is so over-worked that she has moved to a 24-hour delivery schedule.

I suppose it's ok as long as she eventually delivers...but still. I am through making excuses for her. That fairy needs to start herself a "reminder" list so I don't have to stare at a little disappointed face in the morning.

My New Favorite Site

There are two words that can make this momma's heart soar: "free" and "organized". And both of those words are tied up in this handy little site that I stumbled on the other day.

Cozi is a FREE (yup, there's that word!!) online family organizer. You can track your daily/monthly calendar, create to-do lists, make a family journal - and it's accessible from anywhere you can find a computer (including your cell phone). You can email yourself messages, lists, access your grocery list from the store (in case you forgot it at home)....oooo...the possibilities are endless.

Did I mention you can color-code family members to keep track of who's going where and when? This is so up my organized alley!!

I love the fact that my hubby can have quick access to our calendar by logging in at work and I can print off my week at a glance or even month at a glance. Just amazingly cool!!

Cozi also makes a screensaver photo collage for you using your own pictures that includes appointment reminders for your day's schedules as well as the current time.

I've made my CoziCentral site my home landing page for my Internet browser so when I log onto the internet, my schedule is right there in front of me to see - that, along with the screen saver feature keeps me right on top of things! I can add items onto my grocery list using the site too and then print it off later.

There is a little video tour that you can take on the main Cozi site to get a visual look at how the site works, so be sure to check it out. Hope this helps you out!