What I need to be doing right now

I'm having a moment this morning, and it's a good one.  I've been in a slump for a while, and as the great Dr. Seuss says, unslumping yourself is not easily done.  Blame it on this crazy winter (I sure do!) Blame it on the monotony of the day to day, the unceasing parade of daily responsibilities mixed with the unplanned duties, appointments, birthdays, celebrations, and storms, storms, storms!  Whatever the reason, and it doesn't really need to be pinpointed, I am worn out.

For Love of Baking

I really hesitated about writing a post about the recipes I use, because it's not my usual type of post.  And yet, whenever baking day rolls around, I can't help but think about how working to provide my family with food (and helping save money on the things we consume often), however seemingly insignificant, really does play a big part in my sanctification.

Resourceful

I had to laugh at myself the other day.  In the corner of my kitchen is a heavily-used pantry, which is also very cheaply made.  About a year ago, the door fell off the hinge.  And my solution to that, a temporary one in my eyes, was to use packing tape to tape up the door until my husband could fix it.  More than a year later, it is still there and holding strong.  Except for the creaking plastic noise when the door falls open, you'd never even notice.  I marvel at my handiwork every time I go into the pantry (secretly knowing that someday it will fall off, and I will need to have it properly repaired!)

Socialized

The kids and I had an interesting conversation over lunch.  We have a behaviour chart on our diningroom wall that I adapted from Dr. John Rosemond's book The Well-Behaved Child (which is just an excellent, excellent book).  Basically it works like this.  There is a list of behaviour targets that we expect each of the children to do (things that we've been having problems getting them to do).  Currently we have four items on our list...that might be a tad much, now that I think about it, but it's working for now.  I think Dr. Rosemond suggests three, and then waiting until one has been improved on to the point that it no longer needs to be there before removing it and adding another one (the idea being that as you improve on a few areas at a time, the others are bound to follow).

Five Years Ago Today

Five years ago today I thought I was an old pro.  I awoke in the short hours before dawn with contractions for my fourth child, and my husband and I got ourselves and our three boys ready to head into town.  We dropped our boys off at the babysitter around 8:00 am, and while my contractions were irregular and varied in intensity, I was certain I would be calling them by noon with news of a little brother or sister. But it was not so.

My Homeschool Day in the Life

My homeschool day in the life had a bit of a makeover this year.  When I started homeschooling three years ago, I had one student in grade one.  This year I have four in grades K-4 (not to mention my one and three year old, who always make life interesting!) And while I had managed quite nicely with a school day that went from 9-12 every day for all students, this year it became painfully clear that wasn't working for all of my kids any more.

Weaned

Due to official lack of interest (on her part, not mine) my 16-month-old is officially weaned.  I only nursed one other baby as long as her, the rest were all done by a year, and I mostly let them dictate when they're done (although in the past, a return-to-work date has influenced me just a bit, though the morning and evening feedings have always been up to them.)

My First Guest Post!

I'm always so surprised that anyone besides friends and family read my blog, and so very humbled.  The first time I realized anyone outside my city even perused my site, was when Kelly over at In the Sheepfold nominated me for a Liebster Award last summer.  I did a double take when I read the list of names at the end of her post and saw "Natasha".  I thought, "oh cool, she must know another Natasha," but when I hovered over the link I saw the address for blog!  I was on cloud nine, seriously, someone in Georgia reads my blog!  So cool how the Internet works.

Wacky Wednesday

While it's true that that my Wednesdays are not quite as crazy as this, (love me some Dr. Seuss!) they can be pretty crazy around here.  Throw a snowstorm into the mix (as has been the case nearly all winter - what is it with storms always coming on the same day of the week?) and they are downright batty.  I find myself in the precarious spot of trying to decide whether I should chance the weather with my van (read: world's most unreliable winter vehicle EVER) or stay home and miss piano and ballet (which we pay for, and which we've already missed for the past two weeks) yet again.  Today we had a doctor's appointment as well (why do I do this to myself?) but I rescheduled that in late March, hoping against hope not to be dealing with this kind of weather.  But today, I think I'm taking my chances.  If I meet my husband in town he can drive the van home and up our crazy bottle-of-a-road, which is really the biggest problem on days like this.

YOU!

This morning got off to a rocky start.  The baby was fussy and the toddler was troublesome - not a great time for my six-year-old to start his new reader.  But he finished his other one last week, and was so, so (so!) excited to move up a level.  I tried my best to struggle through with him and be encouraging, but it's so hard for a six-year-old to concentrate on challenging words while the baby is crying and Mom keeps interrupting to yell at the three-year-old.  He trucked along anyway, God bless him, and didn't seem to be too bothered by all of it.  Not nearly as bothered as I was.