School (kinda) starts

This morning started out with baby snuggles. I can't express how much I love this stage. It's hard to believe that I had this with three other kids. The moments are so fleeting that I don't even remember them. Is it possible that I really cuddled a tiny, two month old Barrett on my chest?

In the first picture, I had picked him up from his bassinet after he slept literally all night long (!) and he was just content for several minutes to rest his face against mine like this. 

Then he nursed, and snuggled into me and fell sleep again.


William looked so handsome in his shirt, so I wanted to take a picture of him. He wasn't  very happy that he had to wear a "church shirt" so he gave me a more mischievous smile. What can I say?? It was a chilly morning, the boys are so used to summer clothes that they detest the thought of a sweatshirt or pants, so the warmest thing I could think to dress them in that they would tolerate was a button down shirt over their shorts and T-shirt. This one in particular was soft flannel and comfortable. I made him keep it on although he took it off mid morning, saying he was hot. 




"I'm a frog!" William is really into frogs right now.

"mom, can I wear two watches??"

Here, he is doing a cool "two watches dance"


William is a dinosaur, in his favorite "dinosaur shirt." He seriously loves this shirt and would wear it every day if I let him. The only thing that prevents this from happening is that it occasionally does go into the wash. 


We've had this placement for a while, but today Will randomly flipped it over and said, "Oh. My. Word. I want to do this." As soon as he was finished with his lunch (Cheerios and milk) he sat with a dry erase marker and traced every letter and number on the page.


He did so well! Barrett was transfixed as he watched Will. It was almost 4 PM and I still had not put Neva down for either of her two naps, and at this point she was sitting in her highchair with a glazed expression in her eyes, so I took pity on her and put her down for a nap while deciding to let Barrett stay up. I gave him the same placemat I had given to William a long time ago to begin learning to trace his letters. He gave it his best effort.

When they finished, I said, "Show me your work, you guys!" 

They held up their placements and shouted, "Fireworks! Fireworks! Boom! Boom!"




"You know what that was, you guys? That was school!" I said. "Was it fun?"

"Yeah!!!"

"You know you get for starting school? A special school treat." I have had these lollipops on hand for the day we "started school." Since that day is ambiguous and is a serious point of stress for me right now, I busted out the lollipops. 




They loved them. I took a lick and they tasted like bubblegum. Gross!! 

Yes, the thought of how I am going to fit homeschooling into a day that already flies by without a moment to spare, is stressing me out. If it wasn't for that, I don't think I would have much stress. Yes, the day goes by so fast that I often don't get the kids down for naps until half an hour before Brian comes home, but everybody is doing well. Yesterday we learned about ants, poring over a Zoodles magazine together for about half an hour. The kids aren't stuck in front of the TV, they are playing, either inside or out, getting along and learning how to use their imaginations. Yet in the back of my mind I think, none of this count unless I am doing proper school. Life is so busy here. How in the world am I going to carve out even three hours a week? Let alone more, when we move up. Also, I'd like to start Barrett in pre-K, too. The lessons for William's kindergarten are so basic. I know that William already knows the information covered in at least the first 6 to 12 weeks, and Barrett could easily grasp it, So I'd like to do them both. But Barrett still naps in the afternoon so how on earth??

I just keep praying, Lord give me wisdom