Family News

By unscientific estimate these are currently my most-used mom-phrases:

Low voice.
Swallow before you talk.
Knees under the table.

I love how they are examples of the economy of language, and the extra elements that come from having story and/or experience behind them.
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“Low-voice” came out of a conversation I overheard in high school. The mother of a friend described [...]

Well, I was feeling twinges of guilt about packing up (nearly) all the children’s toys, but no more.
I sat next to Melody for a huge chunk of time yesterday afternoon while she made up an entire fantasy with…
(…wait for it…..)
…A cribbage board.
And its little colored pegs.
And we’re talking epic fantasy here.  At one point she [...]

The children are “ice skating” to their self-created music in the nook normally used as the dining area.
Jay is filling out some huge survey, occasionally trying to engage me by asking questions.
I am trying to cruise through my reconceptualized novel despite the activity, and Jay reads from the survey:
“Do you have trouble concentrating or making [...]

This has been the most peaceful trip Jay’s ever been on.
And that was with the 7-years-old birthday party with crafts, donuts and snow-in-the-house.
I can’t imagine it being this peaceful if we had to keep a schedule with the outside world (school, outside work, playdates), but slowing down and doing everything with less intensity.
We’ve gone to [...]

Sorry it’s been so long since I’ve written here.
A lot’s been going on, but I’ve waited because none of it “stable” enough for me to write about it; to set in stone as “reality.”
But now I figure if I wait till it’s all at that level I might not remember enough to record a bunch [...]

Monday: last chance to walk if I want to meet my 4x/week goal before my WW meeting
Tuesday: 3 extra kids from 7:30 - 4:30
Wednesday: my kids visiting friends in a.m. while I work a to-do list for my mom– finish getting her house ready for long-term guests
Thursday: p.m. the long-awaited return to “bonkers” indoor playground [...]

The girls are in ecstasies: we are having a Fairy Party this Saturday, complete (Lord-willing, and mom-capable) with things like a fairy cake, fairy games and fairy crafts.
If I’m *really* together I’ll have adorable pictures (that may or may not end up on the blog…) of the ladies in their finery and enjoying themselves.
Right now [...]

We are dropping grammar and spelling for now.
I’ve decided it’s too soon to really push those for Natasha, and I expect regular copy work to open those topics in a more complete and natural way than I’ve yet come up with on my own.
Math continues to be insanely easy for Natasha, but has just begun [...]

At home our current issues are self-control and deciding whether my not-planning-enough-ahead absolves certain poor behaviors, and, if so, how much.
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We’ve started school now, and the kids love it so far.  The challenging thing there is figuring out the right amount of stuff to fill each slot, and denying myself (so completely) to stay on-track [...]

Natasha: I practiced letters. Last year it was very harder to practice letters, but this year I just chomped through it. I felt good about being able to practice my letters easier. I ate a cookie and some milk as a snack.
We expect to do the second half of this “first day” on Monday afternoon.
The [...]