hide-n-(sensory)-seeking

Before  I get to poetry, I just wanted to take a second to say thanks to everyone who stops by and checks in with us here on the blog. Today is my 200th post! That's amazing to me! To those of you who support me here and in every other way, Thank You! I appreciate you! We read poems today during lunch. I never fail to be amazed at how much kids love poems, even when they don't really understand them. But my kids often surprise me at how much they do understand without much explanation.  No doubt it has so much to do with the flown and rhythm. It often evokes calmness. Reminders to slow down and notice things. Which is what childhood is supposed to be like to begin with. We have a variety of poetry collections and every few weeks or so we have a few days of reading them aloud together. I usually read while the kids eat or draw or paint. It's a nice little lagoon of peace amid all our usual busy. This was my favorite today: BARTER Sara Teasdal...

Big thanks to SimpleHomeschool.net for this great link up, and the chance to share our crazy days! Homeschool for us looks different every day. And since we are in the midst of trying to hammer out a new family routine, our schedule is often precarious, but some things are starting to smooth out. I'll do my best to give you a general idea of how our routine is kind of supposed to go, if everything goes smoothly, which in reality rarely ever fully happens. Life here is crazy, and we just ride the waves as best we can! The Kiddos: Zak - 11, 6th grade, our in-house cartoonist, and amazing sketch artist, he is especially into making his own movies these days, and is quite good at it. Especially since it is really a one man show, he does everything from plot to acting to filming and editing all on his iphone. Zak also has some super powers thanks to his Autism Spectrum Disorder, like a crazy awesome memory, his art, and a very curious and scientific mind, but he has some stru...

So Victor and I actually got to go on a date night a couple weeks ago. Not a we're-going-grocery-shopping-without-the-kids kind of date night, but actual dinner in an actual restaurant!  Then after dinner we stopped in at Bed, Bath, and Beyond, another place we do not go with our kids. Mostly, I was looking for the occasional kitchen helper that makes things a little simpler, and tidier. I found one of those in the way of a cookie sheet organizer, yay! But then as we were perusing on our way to the register, a few bright colors caught my eye in the bath area. I raced over and pulled it all the way out, excitedly calling Victor over.  "Look at this! This is so cool!!" He only needed one look. "That's awesome! We're getting that." My hubby is a major geography and history nerd  lover. He looks at maps for fun. He actually knows where everything is on a map. Even the tiny countries. Especially if they ever had anything to do with E...

Me: Ewww! What is that white thing on the plant? Zak: It's a tissue. Victor: (sarcastically teasing) Yeah, Mommy, of course it's a tissue! What I said: Well then, get another tissue and throw it (the one on the plant) away. What they heard: Well then, get another tissue and throw it (the new tissue) away. (As in instead of the one on the plant) Zak: Uh...okay?? You want me to get another tissue and throw it away? Victor: (knowing what I meant, but only after first thinking exactly what Zak was still thinking, and still in a sassy mood) Well, of course! Because it makes perfect sense to get another tissue and throw it away, because nobody wants to throw away the mystery tissue on the plant! Me: Right, sorry,  I forgot I live in literal land. Please use another tissue to pick up the tissue already on the plant, so that you don't have to touch it with your fingers, and then throw them both away. Right? Right. Good.  Thank you...This is why I'm insane. I'm sur...

I have many moments when I feel like I'm spinning my wheels. That I am not helping my family to progress or work toward our goals well enough. Like many mom's, I become overwhelmed with guilt and doubt. And all the things I'm doing wrong seem to stare at me and follow me around nagging at me. And after a while you do begin to believe it. Even just a little. And then you question yourself, a lot. But every now and then you also get a glimpse of what you're doing right. You suddenly realize that all the work is beginning to show and that your seedlings are bursting up toward the sun. We like watching plants grow in time lapse because the actual real time practice is arduous, painful and often boring. Sometimes waiting for our work as parents to sprout can be just as little fun. Until...that moment when you see it! That breakthrough, no matter how small! And you almost forget the back ache and mud on your pants, because... Look! It's here! It...

This post may contain triggers for some individuals. The stories we share here though may help other families find the resources and help they need. Thank you so much for visiting here today. Most of us with children heard our babies heartbeats before we ever saw them on an ultrasound screen. We eagerly anticipated each appointment because we would get to hear that swooshy, steady gallop. We speculated about whether it would be a girl because it was 169 beats per minute one week, and then the next we were just sure it was a boy at 135. There is hardly a more precious sound to expectant parents than that steady evidence of a vibrant life, exceeded in elation perhaps only by baby's first cry. *** "In the US, about 7,200 (or 18 per 10,000) babies born each year have one of seven critical congenital heart defects (CCHDs)"  The above statistic is a direct quote from an article on the CDC website in regard to  Pulse Oximetry Screening of newborns ....

What is a best friend? It's the one who wakes up thinking about you, and then let's you know that by sitting on the other side of the baby gate meowing for you to get up so you can snuggle and play together. It's the one that greets you with happiness so loud it sounds like a motor humming away.  The one that wants to spend all his free time hanging out with you... The one that knows all your inside jokes. Likes to visit and hang out on cold mornings. Is always game for hide and seek. Or building a clubhouse. Or dumpster diving. Or doing a little shopping! It's the one, when you dump blueberry yogurt on his back... ...is like, "it's ok Boo, it's my favorite flavor." It's the one who'll watch the same movies with you over and over. It's the one that you fight with, but always comes back, no hard feelings. It'...

Well, I didn't actually get rid of 90 things in 30 days. It took me 40! I have continued adding to the piles and can now say that, though it took me longer than I had hoped, I DID FINISH! Here is a run down of the twelve last challenge items/groups (I only had nine left to collect, but i gave myself a penalty of adding three more things!): 1.) 3 porcelain dolls that have been sleeping in a drawer for nearly a year for their own protection (two of which were already broken which is all the proof I need that we are not a porcelain doll family) 2.) My nursing pump. 3.) Broken and unused outside toys. 4.) Two old pillows that just lump up terribly when washed. 5.) Several school items that we had borrowed from my sister were returned. 6.) Old coloring books, full spiral notebooks, dried up markers, broken crayons, and pencils were thrown away. 7.) One baby gate. 8.) Cleaned out old and expired pantry items. 9.) Broken plasticware, lids with no containers, a few containters ...

Throughout the days and weeks I tend to snap screenshots or pictures of the things that make me smile or contemplate. I think the great majority of us often need daily reminders to take a second and smile, breathe, pray, or hug. These are just a few of the things that have recently made me smile, lightened my mood, or made me meditate and more determined to keep pressing ever onward. Hope they make you smile too. My sister sent me the next one and said it sounded like my son...I read it and was like, 'Ahhhhh! I thought I tipped that waitress enough not to say anything!' Just kidding, but it does sound like something my son would totally do!  And, for a few good laughs about the fun of homeschooling check out  this post ! Stay warm everybody!

Zak decided to spend his quiet time making a mural. A brilliantly illustrated mural with uplifting and charming words of wisdom and jeweled with smiles. He hung it on the wall to make us all smile, but I love that he made it just because he felt inspired. He liked it so much that he made another one the next day with just faces. All kinds of faces. But the one it brings up on mine is a warm happy smile. Hope it gives you something to smile about also!