hide-n-(sensory)-seeking

 Ah! It's Friday, another blissful week of going nowhere. For me, anyway. Almost four weeks went by recently where I didn't leave the house once, and I honestly didn't even notice. I had to think  really  hard about the last time I left the house. This arrangement works well for me. I love going nowhere.  My kids do not  love the hermit life. And I gotta say, the biggest drawback of quaren-twenty-till-who-knows-when is that the rest of my family is home nearly all the time too. Even as a homeschool family, I still got fairly regular breaks by pawning my kids off on friends or relatives for a day or two once in a while. This is a bit too much togetherness. Genuine alone time is scarce these days. But, I have an office with a door that closes; I work from home and reading is part of my job. I am one hundred percent aware what a blessing that is, and I never want to take it for granted.  The thought of so many people having to go to jobs, or other essential ac...

Scene: Grace is explaining to Kit what a hobo is... "Hobos are people who put themselves in boxes and mail themselves to places like Hollywood. Then they become famous for their ideas. And that's what a hobo is!" I like that definition. :)

When I wash the dishes, I have... ...help.

There once was a baby, who planted some seeds. She watered the soil, and sunlight it needs. When little spouts popped up she jumped, overjoyed. Then dumped out the soil and the greens, she destroyed. True story. :)

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...

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!

I LOVE homeschooling my kids. That doesn't always make it easy, though. Or cheaper, necessarily. But for us the benefits definitely out-way the sacrifices. I have been known to comment that homeschooling is both a blessing and a curse...I get to be with my kids all the time! But that also means I'm with my kids all-the- time .   Most of the time I love this. My kids are awesome people to hang out with. Not a day goes by without at least one of them making me completely crack up. In so many ways it's better than I expected. But it does make me think of some truths that very few, if any, research or curriculum write ups will tell you. So I thought I'd share them here. Keep in mind every family's experience will differ significantly, so these are by no means hard and fast guarantees. They are just a few jewels from our family's collective experience over the last six plus years (I did "preschool" at home too). Top Ten Things Th...

So Wednesday, our air conditioning stopped conditioning our air. Thankfully this happened now and not in the middle of August! It still easily made it to about 88 degrees in here yesterday though, so we took the day off from our school/house work. None of us work well when we are grouchy and hot.   Instead, Grace pretended to open a spa and she and Kit rubbed lotion on my feet and painted my nails, to quote Grace, "sparkly blue"!   Then I gave Zak permission to play his phone while we girls curled up next to the fans and watched a tear jerker chick flick.   Later after it had cooled off a bit I moved one of the fans to the kitchen and washed up the dishes and chatted with Victor. I, naively, believed that Kit was in the living room watching Olivia.   I was wrong.   She was busy in the kid's room. She came to the kitchen to show me her pretty piggies.       She had found the jar of silver gli...

What do we do here all day?   Well, on any given day one might find :       A baby who colors herself two-tone... A  boy writing a poem on a roll of tape, about writing a poem on a roll of tape... Fantastic architectural sculpures (this one by Grace)...       A toddler giddy with excitement at having more colored hangers added to her bath... Throw in Grandpa arguing with Daddy about American Idol ( which is really The X Factor right now), and telling him how much he hates the show, and would Victor like to come watch with him?   Somewhere in there we usually manage to feed our brood, convince them for the 9,457th time that they really don't want their permanent teeth to fall out before they have even reached adulthood and so should brush them, scriptures, prayers, and hugs and kisses for the big kids, and two parents who are very happy to say goodnight to them (someday we...

My family cracks me up on a daily basis. Here are just two instances that made me smile today... Scene: I'm in the bathroom. I can hear bickering from the other side of the door, but I'm purposely trying NOT to hear what they are disputing. Then I hear Zak, now standing right outside the door, "MOM! Grace is falsely accusing me!!" I didn't answer. He went away, finally. Scene: I'm sitting in the recliner with Kit. Zak is bouncing on the exercise ball, when he slows to a stop. "Mom, I think it's about time you let Koda out of time out, don't you?" "What?" "Look at her!" Well, I don't know what she did, but she sure looks guilty!

             Olivia always wanted an invisible leg...              ok, 1.) She sat there and let me do it!! 2.) She left it in for like seven whole minutes!!!!     A bag of limas under each arm...now where's that pot I wanted?                  Terrific Tuesday to All!

Funny thing about toddlers...they don't seem to care that mom is trying to rest, or have a laid back/light work load kind of day. Nope, they just carry on with their big plans. Because, you know, isn't it really all about them?     Who exploded flour all over the kitchen?     Just follow the footprints. The ittly bitty ones.     The suspect was covered from head to tiny toe!     Then not even two minutes later!     "Look Mama! Somebody spilled pretzels all over the floor!"     "I'll help."     Hmmm...wonder how this happened...     They always return to the scene of the crime!     Oy! 

Somebody forgot to check their pockets. Our dryer is now a lovely shade of melted green crayon. Don't know the extent of damage to the clothes yet. But it was mostly jeans so probably not too bad. Just another day here at the nut house.

Last night, in the beautiful silence of the big kids being in bed and Victor giving Kit a bath, I sat down to take a few minutes and just do something completely unproductive but fun. I had a sink full of dishes and laundry to fold and piles of stuff to go through. But I ignored them, and played Candy Crush instead.   I've been working on the same level for days, and was unsuccessful in completing it last night as well. And as I read the message on the screen a light bulb of sorts went off in my mind. About encouragement. Specifically in regard to our children.   You're probably scratching your head saying she's nuts. And that's probably true, but I'll explain.   The message on the screen when a level is not completed reads: You failed! You did not bring down all the ingredients. (Or get rid of all the jelly. etc.) Yes, the exclamation mark is really there!   So why does this make me think of how we encourage our kids?   Because i...

Welcome to Wordy Wednesday!   Todays subject:   FUN QUOTES!     I seriously don't know how I would make it through some of my days without a hefty dose of humor. I like sweet, tug-at-your-heartstrings quotes and sayings. But I prefer to laugh rather than cry (though I still do plenty of crying), and I love a good tongue-in-cheek quip with a dash of sarcasm.     So here are a few things I've found over the last few weeks that have made me smile, or even laugh out loud. Some are about Asperger's/Autism, some are about parenting, and some are just funny!            (Italics are excerpts from the source article)   Read the full interview here .   Rudy Simone, a San Francisco singer, writer and stand-up comic, didn’t learn that she was on the autism spectrum until her mid-40s. Simone has Asperger syndrome .   To help make up for the lack of resources availab...