Numbers 16

Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. 3 men described as "insolent and rose up against Moses." Num 16:1-2 They brought with them 250 Israelite men to oppose their leader. In a nutshell, God opened up the earth to swallow these 3 leaders along with their families, tents, and all possessions. As the other Israelites fled in fear, God sent fire to consume the 250 followers.

What a day! I imagine if I were a fellow Israelite who witnessed such things I would have a hard time sleeping that night. My mind would be racing with the evidence of God's mighty hand. But then...

"The next day the whole Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. " V.41

Hello? *The very next day*!? Well I've been disappointed in myself enough times that I don't want to judge others. However I do want to learn so I ask "How?"
"How could they rise up in opposition again after just seeing what happened?"

I think it comes down to pride and lack of fear of God. Pride that desires exaltation of self and a lack of fear that says, "Go for it. Get your own way."

I have a baby son that struggles with this very thing. When you don't give him just what he wants, he will throw something at you in a fit of anger. I spank him, make him pick it up, and usually have to spank him again b/c he's still screaming at me. And even though we just did this 20 minutes ago, here we are again. His desire to get his own way overrides his fear of consequence. And so we press on....

My goal is to teach him the humility to deny himself and a healthy fear to keep wrongs in check. I don't want him to be as a forgetful Israelite. I want to tame him and shape him to be useful to God.

A prayer that I often pray over my family is a Scripture in Deut 5:29
"Oh, that their hearts would be inclined to fear me and keep all my commands always, so that it might go well with them and their children forever!"

Honey beat me to it but I had to share them anyway. Isn't he a love? What a handsome smile!

Shopping Times

I've been toying with the idea of experimenting with different weekly shopping times. Usually I go at nap time. It works but takes a huge chunk out of my afternoon. I always feel rushed to get home in time for tea.

I thought about early morning. But that would interrupt my Bible and/or run. I would still feel rushed to get home before Honey left for work. It would create extra work before I even started the day.

Sooo, I'm gonna try Wed nights. Our church worship practice meets here on Wed night. That means Honey and the kids are busy. Nobody will even notice I'm gone. I think I'll have plenty of time and not feel rushed. Maybe the store won't be busy.

I know, I know...who cares? It's just grocery shopping right? That's what I used to think. But now it seems like I have to do so much more planning and prep before I do anything. Everything requires a lot of forethought. It'll mean dinner in the crockpot and careful planning of the day to make sure my energy level is still high in the evening. I think shopping for 11 should be an official form of exercise!

What's your favorite time to shop? Is there one time that the store is not as crowded as another?

A Few Vacation Pix

Mayfa-roo picking out the best rock.
Rafting!
Boys love vacationing! Jes caught 2 fish.
cousins showing off new sun glasses
only some of us at Garden Of The Gods

There's more but they aren't all uploaded yet. This is probably all I'll post though since nobody *really* likes looking at other peoples' vacation photos.

The zoo was a bunch of fun. Probably my favorite of the whole week. And as soon as Honey gets those pix finished I will just have to show you this adorable bear. Such a cutie pie!

It actually turned out cheaper for us to buy a 1 year family pass than to pay individually for one day! Go figure. And since it's only 13 miles from our house, I think we'll be going quite a bit.

Today

Glad to be back in the swing of things! I have a very ambitious list for the day as I am anxious to get on with life.

~I actually got up before 6am, which is something that hasn't happened all week. I always feel better when I get up on time. Of course I'll probably take a nap later!

~Bible in the book of Numbers. I'm looking forward to blogging about that later.

~I ran with Joey and took in all the sights and smells. It was warmer this morning than it usually is. The park was pretty empty. Lots of ducks on the lake. The pine trees smell like the mountains. I love my iPod.

~Babyest woke up with a fever. I hope it's just his last 2 teeth. He's in a good mood though.

~School.

~A trip to Sams.

~Special meals for Honey's b-day.

~Some calls and e-mails to catch up on.

~Still getting ready for school in the fall. A few more things to buy, some more lesson plans to make, some organization to do in the "new" library.

~The new library is my spot in the big room with all our book shelves and a big comfy chair. It looks nice. Honey kicked me out of the book room and now he calls it "his office". It works better that way and I can tell that he likes saying "MY office".

~Yogurt, toast, and eggs for breakfast b/c I didn't get cereal made yesterday. Too much company.
~Chicken alfredo for lunch.
~Lasagna for dinner.

~Birthday party tonight!

~Time to get busy.

Happy Birthday Honey!

After a hugely tiring vacation we're all disappointed that he didn't take one more day off! A Monday b-day would be a good 3 day weekend. Oh well, he's probably glad to be back to work. Me too.

Here's some fun facts about my Sweetie...

~He's tall, dark, and handsome.
~He's romantic sometimes.
~He's a take charge kinda guy.
~He loves me, the kids, and the dog.
~He's a good protector and provider.
~He knows how to fix the water heater.
~He does it with a smile.
~He notices when I'm cold in the car.
~He always always drives.
~He makes yummy eggs.
~He always plants the garden and doesn't fuss too much if I forget about it.
~He accepts my limitations.
~He doesn't care how much money I spend. He just makes adjustments.
~He's musical and it brings smiles in the house.

Ok, I could go on and on......

Happy Birthday Honey! I love you! Looking forward to seeing ya at lunch.

Free Diapers at Walgreens

I was hesitant to post this deal until I tried it for myself. I went this morning and it worked. A good time to stock up! You can ask for the prescription savings booklet at the pharmacy. They wouldn't let me re-use the coupon like an Easy Saver coupon so I could only do the deal once. However, even w/o that particular coupon it's still a great deal for dipes.

Diapers are on sale at Walgreens for $5.99 again this week.
If you are able to get the Prescription Savings booklet coupons, you should be able to get them free!

Here's how the deal works:
Buy 3 packages of Walgreens diapers at $5.99 each. Use $2/1 coupon from the Prescription Savings booklet (should take $2 off each pack). Use $5/2 coupon from EasySaver July booklet (should take $2.50 off each pack).

Spend $4.47 plus tax.
Get $5 Register Reward

Free after coupons and Register Reward!

Thanks to Its More Than Enough for posting this deal.

Pull Out Those Coupons!

King Soopers is having a 10 Item Mega Event. Buy 10,20,or 30 of all these certain items and you will be credited $5 for each increment of 10. With double coupons you should be able to get some good deals (and freebies).

Something funny: I went to Walmart and bought groceries for the week. After I paid, the cashier looks at me and says, "What NO coupons!!?"

Late 4th of July Pix

We had computer issues and I couldn't do pix for awhile. I'm going to make up for it now with a few from the 4th. The cousins came over for dinner and fireworks and a game or two. Cousins playing drums.
wiffle ball in the cul-de-sac
a beautiful work of art
Lane's cake
Our fire pit heating up for hot dogs and marshmallows.

TWENTY YEARS!!

Of....

richer and poorer, sickness and health, better and worse, hugs and kisses, laughter and tears, date nights, movies and french fries, 10 pregnancies, 9 little babies, 9 toddlers, 7 3-year olds, 2 teenagers, traveling and staying home, new recipes, 4 houses, a few dogs and a couple of cats, 2 out-of-state moves, family visits, instruments, church, soccer practices and piano recitals, lots of gallons of milk and loaves of bread, new old cars, new jobs, new friends and old friends, Saturday morning eggs, Sunday mornings, late night talks, and early morning visits.

What a surprise that the most wonderful guy in the world would want ME for so long! And now he says, "This year I've had you longer than your parents did." Tis true.

I love being married to my best friend. He is the one that I'm eager to see in the morning, at lunch, at 5pm, when the kids go to bed, all the time. He's the one that I share everything with and I'm happy to not have to hold back. The one that loves me just as I am. And I love him just as he is.

Happy Anniversary Honey! I love you. I'm looking forward to the next 20 and eternity.

Grocery Shopping Yesterday

I took my oldest son with me. I like to have one-on-one time with my kids in the car and the radio off. It seems like that is aways a good time/place for them to chat. I'm happy that all my kids are good talkers.

I hadn't been to Walmart in a couple of weeks. How things changed! When did potatoes go up to $5.77? Wow. It seemed that just about everything I bought had gone up. When I got home I noticed that my July freebie stash was rather pitiful. This has not been a good month for sales.

However, thanks to moms and dads, my freezer is full. My garden is also flourishing with lots of green tomatoes and my stock pile is looking pretty good too.

I think it may be time to dig a little deeper and find some areas that can be trimmed a bit. So I'm praying for the Lord to show me the fat in the budget. A couple of things come to mind right off the bat.

~paper products -- Anything disposable is expensive. In our house we use paper napkins. Time to move to cloth?

~mac&cheese, frozen pizza, and frozen french fries. I've justified these pre-packaged foods for date night but those are easy enough to make from scratch.

Has anyone else taken measures to cut certain things from the food budget? Any ideas?

Rite Aid Deals

Rite Aid is a great place to build a stock pile. I stock pile all cleaners and personal items whenever I get a chance. There is free shampoo almost every week. And free toothpaste at least twice a month. When it is a great deal, I buy it whether I need it right then or not. I like being able to pull something from my stash that I purchased weeks ago.

This week....

Crest toothpaste is 2.49 with a 2.49 rebate. Use a .50/1 MQ to make a profit.
Suave body wash is on sale 1.99. Use a B1G1 + .75/1 MQ to make them .62 each.
3 pack of Dial soap is 2.99 with $2 rebate making it .99 Use a .60/1 MQ to get it for .39
Electrasol powerballs are 2.99 with a $2 rebate making it .99 Use the new 2.25/1 MQ to make a great profit!

So when all is said and done this entire transaction is FREE with a $1.12 profit!!

How Can It Be Wednesday?

Weird. Seems like it was just this weekend and now the week is 1/2 over. Ever have one of those? So busy doing nothing out of the ordinary, just life. But busy life this week. I feel like I've barely seen my husband.

My house is a mess. I gotta go grocery shopping. And the in-laws come tomorrow. I need a plan of attack!

So I just put the babies down and plopped down on my bed to pray a bit. I prayed about my shopping trip, asked the Lord to help me clean this house, and just for some management in general.

I'm heading out to Walmart and the post office with my son. I need to make good time.
Tea will be strawberries...simple.
Then house cleaning!

I'm doing frozen pizza for the kids and Honey and I are doing a b-day dinner out with friends. This pizza night will save me a ton of time!

Off to shop.

Ramblings Of Rabble

Rabble. Isn't that a funny word? It refers to the Egyptians and others who left with Israel during the exodus. In Numbers 11 the rabble were dissatisfied with manna and the Israelites started in complaining again. If you didn't know the history of discontent you might think the rabble to be a bad influence.

Up ahead in chapter 14 the spies have just returned and reported gloom and doom. It says all the community raised their voices and wept aloud and grumbled against Moses. They believed the first thing they heard from their peers. And when Joshua and Caleb reminded them of their position with the Lord, they talked of stoning them!

How easy it is to follow the naysayers. Just this morning I read about the climbing stats of suicides in this country. Last night I listened to a podcast concerning the rate of college students abandoning their faith. The reports are everywhere. And while I think there is value in being wise about the times, I also think it is dangerous to buy into every conspiracy theory you hear.

Now Joshua and Caleb were far from the power-of-positive-thinking types. They saw the same things the other spies did. They knew the truth, they trusted in their God, and were willing to forge ahead under the command of their Lord. It doesn't seem that they were too concerned about things being easy and nice. They didn't turn their eyes toward Egypt.

Here is a quote from Voddie Baucham that I like, "We are not here to consume and enjoy." Paul says it like this...

"However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the task with joy and complete the ministry the Lord Jesus has given me-the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace." Acts 20:24

In the verses before that he mentions the fact that he does not know what is to become of him but that the Holy Spirit warns him of hardships and prison. He does not shrink back. He knows the truth, trusts in his God, and encourages his listeners to be on guard.

Thinking on these things this morning I wondered how I could train my children to be Joshuas and Calebs. To be the salt and light and to point others to the good news of God's Word. I want them to be able to stand alone when their peers are doubting and to shout from the rooftops that the victory has already been won! To remember where their treasure lies, to deny themselves, to live for Christ. To not to worry about how things appear and expect life to be perfect. To suck it up and not whine when it's not. To encourage others to do the same.

It starts with me. Me being the good example. Me encouraging them. Me pointing them to the Lord. It's work. It's denying myself. But I wonder if in years to come we could change these disturbing reports if we took our eyes off of the things of this world and instead turned them toward furthering the Kingdom....one child at a time. Then maybe they could stand strong, not fall in with the rabble, or look to Egypt instead of their God.

Today

We were invited to some friend's house for dinner. All of us! This is the second time since we've been in CO! Sweet. It's an early dinner so I've had to plan things differently for the day to make sure we get our work done AND be ready for school tomorrow before we leave the house tonight.

~I didn't get to run this morning b/c when I was about to leave I remembered that I forgot to make cereal. Eggs would've worked but would've taken longer once everyone got up. If I made cereal now, the breakfast time would go faster for everyone. A good lesson to plan better.

~I made 2 batches of cereal and 2 loaves of bread. This afternoon I'll make salad to take for dinner.

~Currently working on laundry load #3. In order to keep it up , I need to do about 3 loads a day. I only washed diapers yesterday so I gotta make up for it today.

~My oldest son was at soccer camp this morning. He had a blast! Tomorrow we send 3 more kids. It's 8am-12pm at CCU. It's nice since Honey can just take them with him to work and pick them up at lunch.

~I fed the littles lunch outside. Watermelon is a mess! So...

~Daytime baths for 5 little kids.

~Mopping and clean up right after tea. No more mess for the night so we can leave the house clean and not have much to do after we get home.

~Babies are napping. Tea and salad to make, laundry to fold....

Our House

This weekend I had the chance to pick up a new ceiling fan at Lowe's. Since I was by myself, I browsed through most of the store playing with the door bells, picking out paint samples, and looking at everything for "someday".

But instead of thinking of how much I want to do, my mind kept going to how much we've done. Honey said we should write it down so that if we ever sell it we'll have a record of improvements. Then he changed his mind and said "We'll just say 'everything'". The house was in such bad shape when we got it 9 months ago. But since then we've replaced...

~garage door
~furnace
~radon mitigation system
~3 sinks, maybe 4 (?)
~every single kitchen appliance
~5 interior doors
~bathroom vanity
~bathroom mirror
~front door lock
~kitchen cabinets
~kitchen counters
~clothes rods for every closet
~paint
~3 ceiling fans
~planted a garden and flowers
~shower heads
~fixed a hole in the ceiling
~roof work
~blinds

Not bad for less than a year. I wish I could say that you'd be wow-ed when you walk in now. Not the case. With the exception of the kitchen, most of the things we've done have just been to get the house to a livable state. But with time, we're hoping to do some fancier stuff to it too. It has fantastic potential! As for now, we're thankful for bathroom doors to close and sinks that work! It's funny how you take those things for granted.

Next on the list...closet doors and a new front door.

In The Kitchen

I have wheat! I had some soft white wheat but had been out of hard red for some time. Pastry flour just doesn't make good bread so I am thrilled to be re-stocked. I also got new salt and sucanat. AND wheat prices continue to go down! "Only" $23 for 50#. Down from the $35 I paid last time.

There is nothing like loaves of bread cooling in the kitchen. (Unless it's sparkling canning jars full of tomatoes....grow garden grow! ) Today there are 6 loaves making my house smell yummy...all made in my new bread pans I got for my b-day. I'm sure it'll make the bread all the better. We also have cinnamon roll dough working in the bread machine for later. mmmm....

Ziti in the crock pot for dinner with salad and garlic bread. Tea in the coffee pot. Super easy and there ought to be enough for left overs after church.

I had 3 leftover hamburger patties in the frige. I diced them up and divided them into 2 baggies to pop in the freezer and use for pizza.

I wanted to make a new batch of yogurt today but forgot to save some from my last batch so I have nothing to start it with. Not worth a trip to the store and besides I guess the kitchen is busy enough. I'll add it to the list for next week.

We have a new kitchen work schedule that seems to be working splendidly. All as a result of a bad last week and needing to re-evaluate. The kitchen is shining.

The weather is cooperating and is rather cool so using the oven is no biggie. Yesterday was a different story!

My in-laws are coming next week to stay with us for a bit. My MIL and aunt *love* homemade bread. I'm happy I can make it for them again.

Today

Today was not the best. To be perfectly honest it wasn't even good. Really the whole week has been the same. And while I prefer to keep my blog upbeat, I can not ignore the fact that sometimes it's hard to come up with happy things to blog about. Sure there are those super-positive types that can turn anything into pure sunshine but that is only depressing to me b/c I don't think anyone is really like that. I'd much rather be real and tell it like it is....or at least how I see it (which is probably not how it really is at all!).

~I wonder how life would be if I could script it in the way I chose.

~Big kids are different than little kids.

~Eating ice cream makes me feel guilty.

~Cleaning is therapeutic.

~Why can't adults cry out loud like babies?

~Why do I only hear noises when Honey's not home?

~Things change too quickly. New problems arise that we've never met before. And really I think we are still recovering from the move. The whole separation period, the whole tearing apart and putting back together. Much more than we bargained for. And if we had it to do over again, I think we wouldn't.

What's For Dinner?

It's way too hot to cook and I'm having trouble coming up with something more creative than salad or ice cream.

What do you make when it's hot outside?

Ecc 11:6

I'm very much a morning person. It's my best time of the day. My energy is high and I am optimistic about the day ahead. And during our family morning meeting, I can share with the kids what I read in my personal quiet time, work on our memory verse, and continue reading aloud from our daily childrens' Bible.

Ecc 11:6 says..."Sow your seed in the morning and at evening let not your hands be idle, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that or whether both will do equally well."

After reading this awhile back I decided that my little boys needed more time from me at night. I started taking turns reading in each of their beds. They love it when I climb up to the top bunks!

Problem is that by after dinner time I'm ready to be done. I'm tired. The irritations of the day are wearing on my mind and I'm ready to put an end to it. It's hard to work up the discipline to "let not my hands be idle".

Last night was one of those nights. And I answered my 4yo, "Not tonight, Bud, Momma's too tired." And when I popped my head in their room later they were all sleeping sweetly.

Remorse swept over me. I had wasted this night to read to them about Jesus. An opportunity that I'll never get back. And even if I read extra tonight it won't be the same. Sigh..... Too tired? I don't think so. Too lazy? Absolutely.

My time with them is short. It is ticking away as I type. Lord, please keep my energy high and let me not waste the short time I have!

John

I'm a John the Baptist fan. I love his courage, his boldness, his lack of fear of man. His message was the same to everyone, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."

He didn't specialize it for a particular audience. He never watered it down to cater to anyone. Always the same. "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."

His job was to prepare the way for the Lord. He never tried to exalt himself but always pointed to the One who was yet to come. "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."

"Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world." John 1:29
His whole purpose was to point to Christ. No interest in his own glory. And he did such a good job at it that when John's disciples finally saw this Jesus they left to chase Him down.

Jesus went to Galilee and began to preach, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." The way was prepared.

How I would love to have the characteristics of John. Unashamedly proclaiming my Jesus with no fear whatsoever. To live my life in such a way that my love for God is evident to all. To give a visual: I want to be one of those big obnoxious signs with the big arrow and blinky lights all around. JESUS THIS WAY!!

2 Pink Lines!

That means a BABY!!!

And just when I was thinking it would never happen again.

Early March I think. It'll be our 3rd March b-day.

I hope it's twins.

At our last Bible study a friend broke her wonderful news to everyone. A first baby. So exciting. But after they left, #1 says, "It seems like everyone is getting babies except us. " Little did we know.

Last week I had a ridiculous amount of appts. Unheard of. One of them was a mammogram. And b/c I'm a goof, I mixed up the time and missed the appt. Now I realize what a protection that was! I'd never want to do radiation with a baby on board.

So now I can add me to the list of mommas/babies I'm praying for....
Tracy
Emily
Angelia
Brannon
Amanda
Nicki
Angie
Carri

Please join me to pray for these sweet baby blessings!

Church Babies

Babyest has a hard time at church yesterday. We sat in the pew closest to the back door but I know we were a distraction just the same. Especially to the older folks sitting in front of us. I don't remember how many times Honey took him out, but it was a lot! A lot of crying, screaming, a big battle in the bathroom, spankings, tears....then coming back in to try again. Honey seemed to be pretty patient with him, but I was quite tired of it.

The thing is that we practice this almost every day. Or at least we practice sitting on a blanket and being content. I'm not seeing the fruit of that at church time though so we're going to have to bump up the training a bit.

Now I'll have him sit on my lap in the living room and watch a sermon dvd. Every day. No getting up. No snacks. No juice. No crying. And no whining. Toward the end of the service we decided that I will stay home with him next Sunday and continue our practice. It'll give the rest of our church family a break.

After the last time he was taken out he seemed like a new man. Ready to sit and be quiet. Showing us that he does indeed have the self control to obey. BUT it was the Lord's Supper Sunday and when I got my little cup of juice it was more than he could bear. This time I took him out...not to return.

So I'm standing on the back porch with him when one of the older men came out. Right away I apologized for our disruptions...especially since he was one of the unfortunate ones who sat in front of us. Know what he said? It went something like this....

"Don't ever say that! We love hearing babies in church. That's what church is supposed to be like and that's what it used to be like. You are an important part of this family and I don't ever want you to think it another way."

Awww....
I'll still probably stay home for the next couple of weeks but he was a sweet blessing to this discouraged momma.

Freebies For June

Here's my freebies for the month of June. All free with coupons or rebates! My favorite are the toothbrushes!

Happy 4th!

I LOVE a 3 day weekend!

We cleaned the house this morning. Nice.

Watched a church dvd from my old church in AR.

My crew went shopping.

I took a nap.

They forgot to get something I didn't put on the list. I hate it when I do that. I had to run to the store too.

The cousins are coming over to roast hot dogs and marshmallows in the fire pit.

We got chips and Velveeta dip too. That is mighty fine stuff!

Lane is making an American flag cake from a magazine.

Lots of FUN!!!!!

More Free Soap!

Have you tried this yet? It's our new favorite. It costs less than a dollar so with the coupon it's free. You can print two here. If your Walmart doesn't have it (like mine) hang on to it and check the dollar store, drug store, or Target.

Here's a $2/1 coupon for Just Bunches cereal. Print it here.

The Shortcut Park Again

Later in day I was thinking over our time at the park this afternoon. It didn't go at all like we had planned but it was great fun just the same. I think it was more fun b/c of the adventure of it all and especially walking through the creek.

I loved getting to do something for my son. Honey frequently gets to do neat things for him but I don't always have the chance. He really wanted his siblings to get to play at this park. And because it was harder than I expected, it blessed me more to do it although I didn't realize it until later. Being of a selfish nature, I prefer to give when it's easy. If I had known it would be like it was I'm sure I would've said "forget it". Seeing his ear-t0-ear smile at home made my whole day. I would've done again and again all day long.

I'm so happy that it turned out like it did. The kids were eager to tell Dad all about it at dinner. We had a great time.

The bad part is that everyone had to take showers right away b/c of the creek...what is that water anyway? It was ok for everyone except Mayfee. He threw a fit when we hit the door and had to take a nap. Since he was barely in the creek I decided he could shower later. Now the hot water heater is broken and he had NO hot water! Poor little guy.....it was a hard bath.

The Shortcut Park

My son went running with me yesterday and I took him to my favorite place. It's an elementary school yard that has a running track. He loved it too and wanted everyone to get to see it. The play equipment is different from our school across the cul-de-sac and he had great plans to play Lava (a game they made up).

I learned something today. Running with a dog gets you there faster than walking with 9 kids. The stroller had a flat. The 2 yo was slow. It was hot. It was taking forever. UNTIL I thought of a shortcut!!

So I take them up the other side of the creek and plan to cross at the bridge. Well, it was blocked. You can't walk up the other side of the creek b/c there isn't enough room. You'd have to swim.

Now we have to walk back to the place we started and go the regular way. My son is impatient knowing we have to leave by 12:45 and we are *not* making good time. I let him run ahead with his brothers and Meg and I brought up the rear with babies. We got there at 12:45...time to turn around.

It was way too fun to do that though so we parked under a tree and let Babyest out of the stroller. Already Mally was at the top of the slide. The springy car is big enough for two. The slides are long and bumpy and fast. There's a zip line and lots of monkey bars. Oh yes, this is a fun place!

On the way back I let them stop and play in the creek(!). Huge fun! The walk home was a lot faster since we didn't take the short cut. And a bit cooler since most of them were wet.

We had ice cream at home followed by lots of "Thank you MOM!!" and slip and slide in the back yard. There's plans of going back...but NOT taking the short cut.

Freebie At King Soopers

I'm so late in posting this as the sale ends today. Hopefully you can still take advantage of it this afternoon.

Lawry's marinades are on sale 10/$10. Use .50/1 MQ doubled to get them free!

I love freebies!

Homeschooling Babies

Our Babyest is a whopping 14 months old now. He's starting to talk, can sign, nod and shake, pretend to blow his nose, and is proud when he turns off lights with his toes.

And when I think of how much time I spend with each of my kids on school, I have to say that his school probably takes the most time. I know that most people think of school starting at kindergarten but there's so much opportunity before that.

Here's Babyest's school...

~Sitting on a blanket and playing with the toys Momma "assigns" without getting off (blanket time).
~Crying quietly.
~Reading & singing.
~Signing.
~Coming when called.
~Staying where he's told.
~Giving it back, putting it down, and not touching it.
~Obeying a simple command.
~Sitting through church.

Some of these are taught passively and some we work on purposely. Crying loudly and voicing his disapproval over every little thing was quite an issue for him. That was definitely one we worked on purposely! And thankfully, that is one where we've seen improvement the last couple of weeks.

This is a fun age. I love seeing the things we've taught him start to click. And hopefully these lessons in self control will translate into a smoother book time school in a couple of years.