Chip on the Shoulder

I always watch my kids eating, and think about how funny (and gross) it would be if adults ate like kids do. Just cramming food in our mouths with our fists, rubbing food in our hair, never using silverware, and occasionally crawling under the table to eat what fell off our plates. (What, your kids don't do that?) Here is a good example of one such eating habit...wearing your food on your sleeve. Or more specifically, since he rarely eats in his clothes because he's so messy, having a chip on your shoulder.

Nothing Says Summer Like...

...Queen Anne's Lace. One of my favorite summer "flowers". I don't know if it's even really a flower. My husband always tells me my favorite flowers are actually weeds. Morning glories, honeysuckle...so I am suspicious that maybe Queen Anne's Lace falls into this category as well. ;)

Either way...I love seeing it along the sides of the road when I'm out on my runs. It's a long story, but it's a very personal reminder to me about how God sees the beautiful in my chaos. (If you've ever read The Shack...that probably makes more sense. Great book!) 

Sometimes up close it's hard to see the pattern, the beauty, of something that seems to everyone else to be a weed. God sees the big picture, the whole, the end and the beginning, and He sees a treasured flower that's unique and like no other.

As we officially head into this favorite season of mine, I feel continually reminded of my "treasured" status as these little bits of lace line the roads where I spend so much time. I'm reminded, and thankful, to be seen, and deemed worthy of this gentle reminding.

Summer Bucket List

I'm not really into bucket lists. There are lots of things to do, and placed I want to see, before any grand finale happens...but I think in my heart I know that what's to come is going to be mind-blowing compared to here, so if I miss a landmark or two, I'm not too concerned. But I do think it's fun to have goals and things you want to do, so I'm not judging the listers of buckets.

This summer I have kind of started a little "bucket list" of things to do with the hooligans, during this last summer of freedom. (We will officially be homeschooling in the Fall, not just playing around with preschool, and I think that means I have some growing up to do. Haha!) No more wandering around with no official commitments...well not every day at least. I want to homeschool with breathing room. If we decide to go on a field trip 4 days a week, so be it. As long as we get the basics down, I want the kiddos education to be something that is a serious hands-on experience. Being strapped to a desk for hours makes me cringe...I can only image how that would go over with hooligans.

That said, I think this recent outing is the exact type of thing I want to incorporate into school. We found a nearby state park that I'd never even heard of, complete with lots of animal and insect exhibits (Live and fake...thankfully the insects were fake. Give me a reptile any day.) and a couple of lakes full of turtles and fish. The kiddos had a near death experience with a large catfish (don't expect to see them on River Monsters anytime soon...) and learned a lot about different kinds of birds, snakes, turtles, and bugs.

There was also a playground, and we love to sample local playgrounds. The kiddos need to mark their territory on any and every playground we pass by, so it was fun to run out some crazies after studiously absorbing a science lesson. (By studious I mean Merrick didn't even break anything.) I enjoyed the time spent with them doing something different, and teaching them something at the same time. While all our summer activities aren't educational, (ok most of them aren't, and some of them include not getting out of my pajamas) it was comforting to know you can sneak learning into fun, and hooligans don't even know the difference. So maybe I can cross "homeschooling-failure paranoia" off my bucket list? Well...let's leave that one on there a little while longer. ;)

Tizzy Smash

Tizzy tantrums hake Hulk look pretty tame. Poor kiddo has been sick the last few days, however. That tends to tone down the tantrums just a bit. Here she is doing her impression of Hulk...who she definitely thinks is an amateur fit-thrower.

Casual Friday

Merrick loves to pick out his own clothes. I'm not sure how other moms handle their kids daily outfits, but I finally gave up the battle of trying to get him to wear things that match. (I guess it helps that he doesn't go to school...I'm not as worried about him scaring his teacher into believing he is homeless.)

He also loves to wear clip-on ties. No collar necessary, as you can tell. He will clip them on any old t-shirt. And we must never be without our belt. This is kind of the same as the ties, in that no belt loops are necessary. He will just loop it around his gym shorts. Classy. (The picture below is him in his t-shirt, belt and tie, trying to go all Mr. Miyagi on the fly on the carpet.)

And recently, as if the collarless ties and loop-less belts aren't enough of a fashion statement, he's taken to purposefully wearing mismatched socks. In the next picture he is not only wearing mismatched socks, but one of them is Jericho's sock that fit him a little better than you'd think, since Jericho is Bigfoot. I almost lost it with that one, but then decided it gave me a good excuse to stop worrying about socks that come through the dryer without a match. He obviously doesn't care if they match...so I can find better things to do than hunt for lost socks...like wonder if he is colorblind. ;)