one of the things we’ve enjoyed most about this summer has been the many playdates and gatherings we’ve been able to have in our home.  having loved ones here has been such a blessing to us and is something we look forward to doing more and more often. it started with our little homeschool co-op end of the year celebration back at the end of june.  the very first gathering in our new home! love these girls. love their mommies too.  they have become very dear friends over the course of our homeschooling journey.  i could not have survived our first homeschooling year without them! after our little homeschool celebration…

gotta remember to get more of these written down before they’re forgotten… a few months back, mikey was reading some things off the back of a cereal box one morning. me [in genuine surprise]: hey, how did you know what that says?? mikey: because i know those words and because, uh, i know how to read. (with just a tinge of exasperation over having to state the obvious). allie to me one morning last week: mommy, i came in to your room last night because i had a bad dream. me:  you did? allie:  yeah, but there was no room next to you and i was going to lie down…

she slipped into our room this morning and placed this on the bed next to me.  “it’s a present for you,” she said with a smile. she went ahead and opened it for me. i recently told the kids the story of how i lost the ring daddy gave to me when we got married.  she in particular has felt bad about the missing ring ever since. and so decided she’d make a replacement one for me. and guess what?  it’s a perfect fit!   she says someday she wants to go to costco and buy me a real one when she’s bigger.  she’s still under the impression that you can…

this picture of lauren has nothing to do with the post that follows.  it just feels strange to me to have an entry with no pictures.  plus, i love this girl.  so there’s that, too. these are just some thoughts swirling around in my head these days and i figure if i write them down here, they might just stop swirling so much and let me sleep at 3 in the morning. regarding schooling. thought 1- we know and love families who homeschool their kids and have either done it all the way through or plan to go all the way through.  we call them the ‘lifers’.  and we love…

so after all my angst about letting my baby go… tuesday was her first day of first grade.  she was excited and ready to begin her new adventure.  not nervous at all.  i, on the other hand, was nervous enough for the both of us! we brought a “happy first day of school/survival kit” gift for her teacher which included reward stickers, stress-relieving lotion, advil, chocolates, tide stain remover, antibacterial hand sanitizer, mints, lip balm, and of course, coffee.  🙂 no pictures of her actually at school though.  it was pandemonium there on the first day of school and i actually decided not to take my camera with me so…