It's that time again!!!

It's 6:30 in the morning and this is what I get to look at it. I love it! If you will, notice the bottom part of the tree. Yeah I have a one year old. Every time I look at this tree, something new is missing or out of place. I give, I give people!

I seriously can't begin to explain how giddy I get this time of year. I went grocery shopping at Walmart yesterday and somehow found myself on the opposite side of the store in the Christmas department with the cinnamon pine cones stuck up my nose. I could live in that part of the store. I love November 1st. The rest of the world finally catches up to my Christmas craze! There are a few Scrooges who give me the evil eye, known as a snarky comment on facebook. But who cares! If you love something so much, you tend to enjoy it.... in my case a lot!  

We put our tree up, breaking a new record, on October 30th. Let me explain. I started working at Sam's Club last week. Well I always put my Christmas stuff up on November 1st. However, this year I had to work on November 1st AND November 2nd. It just would not be right for the tree to not be up. So we put it up early.There was only one major catastrophe. My nativity set broke :( It is my favorite! It's just really pretty. And it was a very good clearance buy at Hobby Lobby one year.

 Kyle had originally said that we couldn't turn the lights on until November 1st. Think that worked? Actually he was the one to turn them on that night. So it was ok. I'm sure our neighbors are disturbed. That's ok too.

Things have changed a bit around the LaPorte house. Kyle broke his foot about 4 weeks ago. The story is either, My big, brave and strong husband was fending off a vicious bear from attacking his family, or he was turning off a light switch and turned and broke his foot. Believe whichever one you want. This has left him unable to work. Well, a huge ordeal with an insurance company and.... we get no money. So Mama goes to work :) I have not worked outside of the home in 6 1/2 years. So you can imagine. It's been interesting. I really really want to be home, but there's a weird feeling of joy in providing for my family. I'm getting to serve them in a way that I haven't been able to in quite a few years. So how does school work when this happens? Meet Headmaster LaPorte. Yep, Kyle took over. The kids love him as their teacher. I keep telling them that the mean teacher will be back some day!

I experienced one of the funniest things I have ever seen, yesterday. Salem was being his naughty little self. I have a little glass jar on our cedar chest in the front room. Salem is not allowed to touch this. So Kyle got up to give him a spanking after he threw it on the ground. Salem takes off running. So Kyle was chasing him on crutches. It was so funny. Maybe you had to have been there, but I was hurting from laughing so hard.

The kids are doing extremely well in school. We have two more classes left in Spanish. They have really loved that! Their reading is coming along very well. I'm impressed! They had a fall home school party a few weeks ago and they loved that!

Here's Salem. The boy always has to have a stick!

Well that's all I have for now.

Where have you been???

 We've been right here!

This little guy is getting so big! His personality is starting to shine through. It's so much fun! He is still climbing everything! He is also starting to understand different phrases. This stage is my absolute favorite! From about 14 months to about 24 months, I LOVE!











We are also on week 6 of school. We missed Week 3, 4 and 5 so here those are.

Kyle drew the kids pictures on their napkins and Grace and Simon thought that was the funniest thing. Grace crosses her eyes all the time, on purpose...don't worry, and that is what her picture is.

Week 3 we learned about the Nile River and Early Egypt. I love the History curriculum we are using this year. It's so much fun!

Week 4 we learned about the pyramids. We made a pyramid out of sugar cubes. It took 55 sugar cubes a person. At the end of it Simon asked, "Do you think you could put our sugar cubes in a bag so we could eat them?" Oh you bet Simon! That would be great!! No.

 The finished projects. They enjoyed this. Not sure why Grace is dressed in her winter pajamas and Simon doesn't have a shirt on. Must have been one of "those" mornings. :)

The kids are constantly cutting and drawing and all that fun stuff. The other day in the pile of completed crafts I found this odd piece of art... hmmm.... I asked the kids what it was and Simon said, "Oh I made that. It's underwear for Dad." I laughed so stinking hard!

Here we are today. I won't lie, this morning wasn't the best of mornings. We started out rough! After it started out bad we all, yes mom included, went and had a time on our bed. We all said a little prayer and asked God to help us have a good day, to have good attitudes and to glorify Him. After that, we came out, hugged, asked forgiveness from each other, mom included, and started our day right. It went much better after that!

 I have learned a lot of humility from asking my kids for forgiveness. I often find myself speaking down to my kids and on occasion yelling at them. The real kicker is when you yell, "You need to be kind!" They are probably thinking, "Be kind like you are right now?" How confusing! But often as the parent, we think if we ask for forgiveness from our kids or tell them that we were wrong, that it's a bad thing. I want my kids to know that when I say we are all sinners and all need grace, that it includes me. Then we can understand each other and have a better relationship. Then when we look at each other, we can have more grace with each other because we realize we both have sinful hearts. We won't be perfect. We will wrong each other. But the beautiful thing is, Jesus has given us much grace and much mercy, therefore, how much more should we have it with each other. One neat thing that happened today was, after all the happened, I opened our "Big Picture Bible" and it was about Jesus dying on the cross. Then I we did our "Leading Little Ones to God" and it was about Forgiveness of Sins, and finally I opened our "24 Family Ways" and the character trait to work on for the week was forgiveness. I love how those kinds of providential things happen. :)

This was Salem during school today. He was a very good boy :)

This weekend is the Fall Festival. Grace and Ally will be singing again with Grandma. They are so excited! So I'm sure there will be an update this weekend! Until then...

Martha wannabe!

Well hello there! I'm stuck in a rut and I can't find my way out. This is why my blog never lasts. My life seems really busy, but when I come to share it on here.... I have nothing folks! I need some ideas. What's something I can write about?

I decided it was time to teach myself to sew. My parents got me a sewing machine two Christmases ago. My dad told me that he knew it would be put in the attic and never opened. I was determined to prove him wrong! Well a year and a half later I'm doing just that. Maybe....
I read a ton of blogs about homeschool, cooking, cleaning, parenting, being a wife and sewing. I see all these adorable skirts and bags and I want to do that so bad. I'm pretty sure in home-ec class I failed the little square pillow we all had to make. I'm also pretty sure that was the last time I even looked at a sewing machine. A friend of mine came over last winter and showed me how to thread my machine and the bobbin.This would be opening the box for the first time. I thought then I would start sewing. I never did!
Last week I was looking on a few blogs and found a very very simple tutorial for little capri pants using bandanas. I figured two things, 1 it looked easy and 2, if I messed it up, bandanas are a dollar a piece. Not a huge loss. So I pulled Henrietta back out of the box. She was already threaded and ready to go. So we began. I have since made 6 pairs of these little pants. Grace loves them!! Here are her most recent pair. She says they are so comfortable to sleep in :)

I also made a pair for Kate and Ally to match Grace's. Then Simon picked out "army" ones. They are cute. Now I'm ready to move onto another project. Not sure what quite yet. Maybe a simple skirt. We'll see.

What else is new?? We finished our 3rd week of school and going strong. The kids are doing so well. I'm really enjoying and they seem to be as well. This is their third 100% on a spelling test and here they are showing them off.

DO YOU SEE HENRIETTA BACK THERE!?!?!

They make me smile



My handsome husband and I got to have a date night last night. Salem is 13 1/2 months and Kyle and I have not had a night alone since before then. We usually just take him with us because it's easier that way. My parents so kindly asked if they could keep all 3 of them, as well as my sister's 2 girls, over night. At first I was a little nervous at the thought of Salem being away from me. But then I thought about it a little more and I knew he would be fine AND the best part, I would get a full night sleep. I've had maybe three of those since he was born. So off we went. We ate at 54th Street with my sister and Bill. It was a great time! Then we headed to get coffee...that was until my husband, and avid reader, remembered that there was a book sale going on at the library. We made an hour detour there. Then I wanted to look at Hobby Lobby "real quick". That was another hour detour. By the way.....

...and that's all I'm going to put. Otherwise I am likely to go on and on about how there are only 119 days, 2 hours and 43 minutes until Christmas day. That will likely lead me into a post about how much I love Christmas, how today I was listening to my Christmas Pandora Station, which will then lead me to tell you how I found Home Alone 2, one of my favorites, the other day at Target for $5. $5!!! In a few months that movie will be probably $15. Then I will probably tell you that I've watched the movie 3 times since I bought. So for now, I will just post the picture and go on.

So back to our hot date! After we walked around Hobby Lobby's Christmas aisles, I picked up a few things and we left. We started for coffee and then decided to just come home and make an entire pot of coffee for about 1/100th of the price to buy one. It's so funny. I try to remember life before we had kids and I can't! We got home and we both we're kinda like..."Now what?" The kids keep us going. We did end up just talking for awhile. It was nice. We don't often get long uninterrupted conversations these days. We had a really nice evening. I did laugh when I thought about the fact that our date night consisted of books and craft stores... We're 26 and 27! Come on! In case you're wondering, I GOT A FULL NIGHT OF SLEEP! It was beautiful!

 I'm thankful for my husband and his love and care for our family! I couldn't have asked for a better husband or father for my children. He makes me laugh and I still get those little girly butterflies in my stomach when 3:30 hits and I know he is on his way home. I love his passion for the Lord and his desire to lead his family in the ways of the Lord. So yeah I'm pretty blessed with him! He's a keeper!

Well I think that is all I have to report on for the day. It's time for bed! Church in the morning!

Let Them Be Little...

I often find myself longing for a full night sleep. I tell myself that life will be easier then and I will feel like a human being when I am well rested, as opposed to the monster I can be. Take away my coffee like the storm did on Friday and you've got a mega beast! Watch out! However, I am really enjoying life right now. I get to look at this face every single day:

Breaking in his new top teeth

Who wouldn't love it?!

I often have to pray against the thoughts of excitement of my children getting older. I think I have a misinterpreted idea that when kids are older, they are easier. I need to remember that each age brings about their own hardships. But when you add lack of sleep to it all, it FEELS harder at this age.

This week I want to try and enjoy my kids more. To appreciate their different personalities and to really let them be little. Instead of letting the giggling and the noise get on my nerves, I'm going to join in and really appreciate it.  Who knows, you may even see me running around with a wipe box on my head.

Or maybe I'll wear an Indian Bonnet

Who knows, maybe I'll wear the whole thing!

One thing I do know, I want to enjoy these years! They are going so fast. I need to appreciate them, cherish them and let my kids be little. Here's to a new week!

When Salem is quiet...

You know those people who always have a story for everything? Yeah I guess I am one of them. But I'm talking about the people who, your story involves one thing and their story always has to one up it! ALWAYS! You had 3 kids, 2 dogs, 1 cat, a bird and they had 4 kids, 8 dogs, 3 cats and a goldfish. I always want to say, "Oh really? Prove it!" Well anyway, people probably think that about me. Only problem... I have pictures to prove it. My life is so crazy and eventful that I believe people think it can't possibly true. Some days I believe it of myself. I want to call the hidden cameras out and say game over. Surely, (Shirley, who's Shirley?) my life is on hidden camera. I mean this in a laughing way. I'm definitely not complaining. But my life is.... crazy! In a good way.

Salem is only quiet on a few occasions.
1. when he is sleeping
2. when he is eating
3. when he is doing something he is not supposed to

Today would revolve around occasion #3. I have been in the deep cleaning mood, as I told you earlier. In our bedroom we have a bathroom that doesn't get much use. So we decided to turn it into the place for the litter box and cat food. I took the litter box out, cleaned it and put in fresh litter(blessing #1), swept and mopped the floor and then I asked Grace to feed the cat. I came in the front room and started finishing up laundry. In the mean time Simon went out front to play. When he does that, Salem usually runs to Simon's room and watches him from out the window and yells at him. After about 5 minutes of folding laundry, I realized that I wasn't hearing Salem at all. So I go in Simon's room to see what he is doing. No Salem.... "Salem!" I hear him yell from in my room. When I walked in my room the first thing I see is the baby gate laying on the floor and not up against the bathroom door where the cat litter is. I closed my eyes for a moment and hoped... silently hoped....

 One of those moments where you just want to take off running! Go where? I don't know! Anywhere!
So what's the first thing you do when you see something like this? Of course grab him and put him in the bathtub. Nope. Grab your camera! THEN take his shirt off and throw him in the bath tub. Grace said, "Mom his diaper is still on him." As if in that moment it really matters :) All I could think was how disgusting it was and hopefully he didn't put it in his mouth. Sick!

No worries though! We took a bath, put in new litter AGAIN ('cause that stuff is cheap ya know?), swept the floor AGAIN and then mopped AGAIN. All is well in the LaPorte home.

A bed of raisins...

I love whenever Grace gets a song stuck in her head. She will sing it constantly. There's no sweeter sound than her little voice. It sometimes has a little twang with it. I credit that to her Grandma Donita. Today she was singing the song If I Die Young by The Band Perry. Her lyrics went, "If I die young bury me in Saturn. Lay me down on a bed of raisins." For those who don't know the lyrics are, "If I die young bury me in satin. Lay me down on a bed of roses." I love it!

Sunday before church I was fixing Grace's hair, you know 'cause it was broken, as my husband says. Anyway, we were DOING her hair. The flat iron was sitting beside us and I told her to be careful for it because it would burn her. Well of course that brought up a story that she will never EVER let me forget. "Mom do you remember that time when I was a little girl," (she's 6 now so I guess she's pretty much an adult now), "and you were curling my hair? Remember when you dropped it on my arm? I can still remember that pain. Didn't you just feel like the worst mom ever?"
Sheesh!!! This happened at least 2 years ago and it may have been 3. But she can still remember the pain and surely I must be the worst mom ever. :) I told her I did remember and I apologized for the 223rd time. She said, "Well I forgive you. Just please don't let it happen again." Scarred for life I tell ya!

Today started our second week of school.

It went great! The kids are really coming along in reading. I love it!! It has pretty much rained all morning. Gray and dreary. But these are days when I'm the most productive.









Has your front room ever looked like this?

We brought the toy box toys up from downstairs and in their rooms. We dumped them out and started sorting. There's a trash bag there somewhere. It was almost full when we were done. I love to clean out closets and toy boxes. It's freeing. I hate clutter!

Have you seen Kid History? If you haven't you are missing out. Here's one for you. Look the rest of them up. They are funny!

So long!

Mom of the Year!

5 posts in one week? Surely this has to be a record, right?!

 We are coming to the end of our first week of school. It went great! It looks like Fridays are going to be our easy days. Yesterday was so beautiful outside so after school, and Salem's well check, we went to the park. We have been stuck inside the house since July 5th, due to Heat Advisories and disgusting humidity. Of course we went to the pool a few times and went outside in the early morning hours a few days. But other than that, we've been in the house! We turned the air off on Tuesday and opened up the windows. That always gets me in the mood to clean with all the toxic chemicals. Deep clean the kitchen I did. Top to bottom, it was sparkling. After school on Tuesday the kids played outside most of the day. Yesterday they played outside after dinner until it was almost completely dark. So we woke up today. Beautiful morning. Finished school, ate lunch, I started laundry and the kids went outside. In 10 minutes they were back inside. One asked to watch a movie and the other asked to play on my phone. Are you kidding me?! It's 84 degrees out with no humidity and you want to play inside? No way! So I told them that they needed to play outside. The first whine, "It's TOO hot!" The second whine, "It's boring!" Oh really? Ok. So the rule was if you're inside you are cleaning.

These may or may not be clean clothes waiting to be folded. Come on, label me a really good homemaker that always has her laundry caught up.

Now Simon lasted about 5 minutes before he realized that playing hockey on the driveway sounded like more fun. Grace? Sorted all of the laundry and then started to fold her clothes. She is a funny one. I told her that it was going to start getting cold in a few months so she should play outside as much as possible. This brings me to my next paragraph.

  While the said laundry was being folded, I had my Pandora mix playing. Of course I have a Christmas playlist on my mix. I would be so ashamed of myself if I didn't. Well I had the music turned up pretty loud as well as the windows open. The next song that comes on was Winter Wonderland by Frank Sinatra. A few of our neighbors were outside when it came on. You know how some songs automatically are played louder than the other? Yeah, this song was that way. So I'm pretty sure our neighbors may think we're crazy. That's ok. They will know for sure on November 1st when our Christmas tree is up. I can't wait for that time of year!

I just found this... LOVE! The video may be one of the most beautiful videos I've seen. Just give it a chance!

I did forget to mention one thing in my update that quite frankly is a big deal. A big deal in the life of a 6 year old. Grace lost her first tooth on August 4th. I'm pretty sure she has shown me it every single day since she lost it :)

One final thing I want to share with you. One thing in school that the kids will do a lot of is poetry memorization. This week they memorized the poem, The Caterpillar.

A picture just to make you smile!



Have a good day everyone!