Ok, so I really enjoy blogging. I know I’m not as faithful as some, but I do enjoy it. And reading. Oh how I love to read good blogs! I have found one of the funniest women in the world via blogging, and now she is MY new pretend BFF. Check her out.

Oh, and is it a sign that you do too much reading of blogs when you start having dreams in which another favorite blogger makes an appearance? I want to adopt this lady as my mother!!!

And if either of these two linked bloggers read this, I am NOT stalking you! I just think God had wonderful ideas when He created you!

Oh my goodness, I think summer actually took me seriously. Either that, or she just forgot something and came back to retrieve it. YAY for more hot weather!

So today we’ll be riding our new “Big Bertha”, eating bbq ribs and hopefully corn on the cob, and basking in just one more weekend. I sound like a kid going to bed - please, just five more minutes! I know fall and winter are inevitable, but the longer we can prolong winter’s extended stay, the better.

Happy Day!

My kitchen and dining room are messy - again (or is it still?).

My storage room is emptier. I threw out an extra capacity Glad garbage bag FULL of junk yesterday. That would be kid junk. And I’ve already done this three times since moving here a year ago. How does that happen?

We’d really like to get the storage room turned into a spare room, likely an office/guest room, with a few pieces of exercise equipment in there. This will also give us a bit more room for the family room/school room. We have an extra three feet behind the far wall. It’s kind of weird. They built the storage room, with a long hall-like section in it. We’ve just used it to store things, but the less storage room, the less we can keep. And we all know that’s not a bad thing.
Copper is doing good. Still doing his business in the house. But that’s mostly our fault. We get busy with things, and him being his placid self, doesn’t do anything more than patter around trying to hold it, until he can’t any longer. Who would have thought we’d want a dog to bark MORE?

Damara is great. She’s so SWEET. I know I’m biased, but it’s true. She is somewhat “clingy”, although I think all babies are to some degree. I’ve not had one of my five that doesn’t prefer arms to aloneness. I have a sling that I use to hold her with when I’m busy in the kitchen, and she’s desperate for cuddles. She more often than not falls asleep in it. Check out starslings.com. I highly recommend them.

Well, I’m off to do more decluttering. This house is getting whipped into shape quicker than I thought. Let’s hope Baby keeps on cooperating, and having some “not attached to Mommy” moments.

P.S. Does Black & Decker realize how much more convenient it would be if their breadmaker had a “resume” setting? It would be good for those times when you are half-way through baking a loaf, intended to be eaten for lunch, and some unknown short person decided it’s a good time to UNPLUG the machine. Kind of hard to finish it when you have to start at the beginning again. I’m just sayin’.

We don’t have to do the mad dash to various stores, filling out obligatory lists of supplies, and spending way to much on clothing and back packs, etc. We get to buy our supplies when everything is super cheap, after everyone else is in their classrooms.

We also don’t have to have arguments with kids over “dorky” clothes. Want some cheap entertainment? Go to WM the week before school, and watch all the harried moms and demanding offspring as they bicker. Too funny.

AND, transportation. Now we are not unbiased, as our business is ironically transporting children to school. However, we’ve lost all our Dist.18 contracts this year. And the Dist. decided to do it all themselves. And it’s not going to hot. We’re already getting calls from parents - not that we can do anything about it - but it’s funny. Not for them, but because the district PROMISED there would be no change in service. Ha, ha. Fat chance. I am so glad my kids don’t have to spend so much of their days on a bus, with all the crap associated with it.

These are just three more good reasons we enjoy homeschooling.

I am sooo tired. As a nursing mother to a sweet, but needy, three month old baby, I am on demand around the clock. It is hard, by times, but I have to say, I feel honoured to be the source of nutrition for my baby. I am in awe that my body can do all it’s done and is doing in the past year. And what a marvelous result from said year. Damara is a joy to this household, through and through. Even now, when she is fussy, it doesn’t take much to calm her, and she is becoming a quick study in bringing smiles to everyone that loves her. What a Blessing!

I didn’t get pictures, but even Copper was blessed with her creativity!

“I’m a free way God. He calls me Fred.”