August 13th

Well lets just see if i can focus for a moment and document a few things. First of all The school next to us began classes today which has applied to me the great pressure of needing to ready this family of mine for the school year. I will officially be schooling three children. A third grader, a second grader and a kindergardener! I'm definitely feeling the pressure!  So I spent quite a lot of time this afternoon unsuccessfully searching for just the right curriculum.  I guess I'll have to leave that on the mile long "to-do" list.  However, this morning was a bit more successful. I managed to get all three boys signed up for soccer. Tucker and Rollin will be on a team together, with the same coach and some of the same kids from their baseball team.  Okay it was the last day for sign ups, and yes sign ups have been going on for at least a month and a half but look they are signed up now and with a couple of hours to spare!  Success!  After that we had an extremely pleasing library visit. The boys were so well behaved I was sort of blown away. They were each allowed to choose 5 books.  It is important for us to establish a number before we enter the library and it worked very well, although Tucker and ROllin each came home with six, Fynneus definitely had just five. I am certain because he counted and stacked them 7 times before we checked out.  Tucker had some specific topics in mind, so we asked the librarian to help. He wanted books on edible plants, animal tracks and signs, and a "how to guide" on field dressing animals, specifically deer.  The librarian was so sweet and eager to help and she found tucker a whole stack of books on these various topics.  Then to find a book on edible plants we had to cross over into the adult section of the library.  There we found multiple books on edible plants and even one on medicinal plants which is currently his favorite.  After the librarian retreated to her desk Tucker began to look through the stack of "juvenile" books she had found for him. He was so disheartened at the content and drawings/images in these "baby books". So we continued to look through the adult selections and while this was more up to par with his interest he quickly realized that his own reading skills are not yet refined enough to devour the information the way he would like to.  I encouraged him the best I could and assured him that his reading will improve but he was solemn for a good part of the afternoon.  Everyone seemed (mostly) content with their selections so we checked out and I was really not even too disappointed  about not getting a single book for myself, although I was longing for some inspirational homeschooling and parenting information, I was glad just to walk out still calm and collected and with three, okay, two smiling boys. Success!!  Then we went to get groceries! I don't really feel like talking about it. Fast forward a bit to this afternoon. Rollin approaches me with complaints of a headache, I am in the middle of insisting that he drink a glass of water when Tucker pipes in, "hey Rollin would you like me to make you some lemon balm tea, we have it in our garden it will help with your headache".  Rollin happily agrees and they run out the door to gather leaves. Rewind back to breakfast: The plan is to make scrambled eggs with crumbled sausage and onion, I grab my favorite skillet, drizzle in the olive oil, chop the onion, and then as I add it to the skillet I think to myself "that oil looks funny" then grab the bottle to add just a dash more olive oil, and as I tip it into the skillet, like I do almost every morning I realize I am holding in my hand the fancy bottle of dish soap that normally sits next to the sink.  Fail.


Unrelated to today, I took Fynn grocery shopping with me and he saw some black cherries in the produce section and began to beg for them as if it where a rare forbidden candy. I agreed and he cheered and thanked me repeatedly. When we got home in all the confusions of unloading groceries and breaking up fighting brothers I sent all three boys into the living room, they were slightly disgruntled over the situation but Fynn announced to them, "well we got cherries, and that's good news!"

puddles and smiles

Fynn-tastic!

Rabies

I was lying on my bed when Fynneus came in to check on me. Suddenly Rollin came bouncing and shrieking into the the bedroom and jumped on the bed.  Fynn said "Rollin we should try to be quiet cause mommy has a fever." Then Rollin without missing a beat said "what? Rabies? ahhh!"

Fynn's Schedule

I was running errands with the boys and it was almost lunch time. Tucker and Rollin asked if we could have donuts for lunch. I said no. They asked why. I said "because I don't want donuts and I don't want you to have donuts for lunch!" Then I asked "am I really having to explain this to you guys right now?"    Then Fynneus jumped in and said "well let me just check my schedule." He proceeded to thumb through a tiny little notebook I had just gotten him that had absolutely nothing written in it and says "Yep my schedule says we have to have donuts."

It looks like a disaster area

When I was growing up, actually as far back as I can remember my parents would come into my bedroom and say things like "it looks like a disaster area in here" or "it looks like a tornado went through here" or other clever sayings to help me realize how untidy my room was.  I heard the words replay through my head today as I looked around my home. Then it all made sense! I realize now that I must have subconsciously been trying to prepare myself for life with a husband and three sons!

Fathers Day

I was in the kitchen this morning starting breakfast when Fynn came in and said "hey who gets the red plate?"  Tucker told him it was for daddy and I reminded him that it was fathers day. "Oh" he said " can we make him bread and breakfast?" (which translates to Bed and breakfast, which actually means breakfast in bed.) I agreed of course cause I was already working on it. Then he said "oooh can I get his drink?" I agreed again and he began to wander excitedly around the kitchen saying "hmmm what should I get him? what should I get him?" The he paused suddenly, spun around  and pointing a finger at me said "I know! Beer!!"  Then he looked really confused and asked "do you think he would like beer right now?"  I explained that Thadeus had to work today so beer was probably not the best choice. He served him Kombucha tea instead!