A Familiar Path

Yesterday, I let my baby paint with watercolors at the homeschool table. Susan says I should never do that.

Susan may be right.

It’s a good things she’s washable.

Today felt like I was pulled in 49 different directions. Emeline wanted to make a new monster to enter in the fair. I was talking her through it and rethreading the sewing machine while doing lessons with Milo. Why is it that I spend more time working on my machine, threading, untangling threading mishaps and just basically bad-mouthing my machine than I do actual sewing? Is it supposed to be that way? I feel like I’m missing out on some kind of special sewing machine bond that will make me love my machine instead of regarding it with suspicion. Will it actually sew an entire seam without clogging up this time?

It makes me anxious and frustrated. I end up yelling at everyone over everything.

Right now I’m looking at a pile of blankets, clothes and a cardboard box piled on the table behind the love seat. When/how did that get there? Excuse me while I interrogate an older girl.

I know it’s someone’s fault.

All that non laboring I did yesterday is catching up with me today. I even went to bed early without cleaning the kitchen. While I was catching up from my laziness last night, I dropped one of my favorite serving dishes on my tile floor (a tile floor shows no mercy) and it shattered. I’d gotten it as a wedding gift.

On my list today, besides the usual do school, clean some house, run a load of laundry, fix meals 4,235 times and clean up after those meals, is to take school pictures of my kids. I did this last year and when got our yearbooks that our homeschool group does for us every year, I saw I had used those pictures on our page. And, oh my heart, they look so much younger! I wasn’t even going to do it this year because, don’t I take pictures of my kids every day? But, when you have a folder specifically labeled school pictures and you go to design your yearbook page, they are so easy to find.

So, now I’m going to do it even if it means making the kids put on real clothes when we aren’t going anywhere.

Oh, and I have another post up for Kellogg’s about those sweet Summer Memories with another chance for you to win a $100 Visa gift card. Really, one of you will win. I’ll choose a winner out of those comments next Tuesday. It’s worth a shot.

Could this be the last of the swimming? We’ve had some cool evenings and Friday evening at my cousin’s daughter’s birthday party the water was warm, but the breeze was cool.

There were lots of squealing seven year old girls, which totally intimidated my six year old boy. There were adorable babies and people with cameras taking pictures of the babies.

I finally replaced my dunked Blackberry with a Blackberry Bold bought from my cousin’s husband after he upgraded to an iPhone. I can’t tell you how nice it is to have the entire keyboard at my fingertips. I no longer have to answer questions with “Es.” Or send my husband a text message that says, “Pwease.” Now if I can just keep it out of Tess’s hands.

Today, Sunday, we have taken it easy. We had a wonderful message at church this morning about The Next Generation. It really made me think about what I’m doing to share Christ with not only my children, but the other children I come in contact with. I’m teaching the seventh graders on Wednesday nights and, while I tend to dread the whole thing about a month before we get started, once into it, I love those kids and I feel really blessed to be able to teach them God’s word.

Tomorrow we’ll be hanging out around the house, taking it easy and enjoying Clark being home with us. Tomorrow evening I’m going to be taking some photos. I always love when I get to take pictures.

On Labor Day six years ago I was in real labor, giving birth to this precious boy. What will you be doing on Labor Day? Any special plans?