I Shall Be Random, Vol. 3

~ 1 ~

Sweet Tobin Bear (who was somewhat of a grouch today) woke from his nap with flushed cheeks.  This evening when I felt his forehead, he seemed slightly warm, so we got out the thermometer.  Sure enough, he had a slight fever:  99.2.  That isn't much, but enough to make me keep an eye on him to see what develops.  We've been blessed with such a long streak of good health, and I'm grateful for that--all the while hoping to extend it a little longer!  :)

On a happier (not to mention, warmer - look at that bare tummy!) day a few weeks ago, here was Tobin after making a design with our animal dominoes.  Of course, he wanted me to take a picture of him.  Of course, I was happy to do so.  :)

~ 2 ~

I've learned something:  we could live easily with about half of the stuff we currently have--maybe even with less.  Now, half a bed might be a problem.  ;-)  But half our clothes gone?  We'd be fine.  Half our books?  We'd still have more than enough.  Half our toys?  No problem.  Half our towels?  We'd still manage to get dry after baths and showers.

With that in mind, I've learned something else:  when I'm decluttering and I pick up an item and my first thought is, "We can get rid of this," then that's what I need to do.  Sometimes my mind does a turn-around and tries to convince me to keep it ("but it's such a cute outfit...and remember when Josiah wore that during your Christmas trip?...how could you get rid of it?").  But if the thought has once entered my mind that we could get rid of something, that's the part of my brain I should listen to.

~ 3 ~

On a normal day, I do dishes for 18 meals: 5 for breakfast, 5 for lunch, and 8 for supper.  No wonder I can't fit a day's worth of dishes into the dishwasher but always end up needing to hand wash some.  Dishes used to rank fairly low on my list of household chores I enjoy, but I'm having a heart change about them and have recently not minded them a bit.  Hooray for small victories!

~ 4 ~

I always mix up (pun intended) two words:  concrete and cement.  What's the difference?  Is there one?  Are those words interchangeable?  If not, when am I supposed to say "concrete," and when is "cement" the better word?  "Look, there goes a cement truck!"  Is that right?  "Look, there goes a concrete truck" sounds strange to my ears.  "That sidewalk is made of concrete" sounds good though.  Who knows?  And to think I started college as an English major!  ;-)

~ 5 ~

Once in a while, I look at the stats area of my blog and am mostly interested in the search keywords that people have used that lead them to my blog.  The majority of them make sense; anything with my name, for example is pretty obvious, as well as any variation of "spilled," "blog," "cup overflows," etc.  But then there are the other ones--the ones that make me scratch my head and wonder, "Why did that lead to my blog???"  :)  Ones like these:

"women who write of god and tea"

"child reaches for sky"
"haircut boy"
"missing my grandma like crazy"
"i started out as a teacher"
"crewcut"
"i just don't like some people"
"what people say about facebook"
"how can I prevent my cup from spilling"

~ 6 ~

When Josiah was young, I often wondered what his first memory would be.  I wouldn't go so far as to say that I worried about it, but I did fervently hope that it would be a pleasant memory.  Not too long ago, he and I were talking about his memories of Israel; and since we lived there from the time he was 7 months until he was 3 years, 1 month, it was logical that his earliest memories came from that time period.  This is what he told me he remembers from there:

1. holding a Winnie the Pooh balloon in the airport, waiting for my mom to arrive, right before David's birth (literally, just a few hours before his birth...Mom got there in the nick of time) - Josiah was 2 years, 10 months at the time
2. holding David when we got home from the hospital - he was still 2 years, 10 months  ;-)
3. his third birthday party, at the beach - he remembers that it was windy and that sand blew into the icing on the cake  ;-)
4. eating Oatmeal Squares cereal - this is kind of a random memory, the kind that makes me wonder why he remembered it - but a few months ago, I bought that kind of cereal for the boys - it was not a normal cereal for us, but I remembered how Josiah had enjoyed it in Israel, and I wondered if the others would like it, too - I didn't say a word to Josiah about it being the cereal he had eaten so much of in Israel; but when Josiah poured a bowl and took a bite, he said, "Is this the cereal we used to have in Israel?" - isn't that funny?
As it turns out, I guess all his very early memories were pleasant, notwithstanding a little sand in the cake.  ;-)

~ 7 ~

Bothered by fruit flies in your kitchen?  Check out this handy little tip from Polly at The Trinity Chronicles.  It's easy, cheap, quick, non-toxic (to humans), and best of all, effective!

~ 8 ~

I was blessed by this excellent article by Sally Clarkson that I read recently.  Her thoughts about homeschooling echo my own, especially this year as I have educated in a more relaxed fashion than ever before.  Maybe you'll be encouraged by this, too.

~ 9 ~

Here's another thought-provoking, challenging-but-inspiring article: this one about the "dirty little secret" of anger that too many homeschooling moms have.  I've confessed my own challenges in this area, and I'm always grateful to get another weapon in my arsenal to fight against the terrible problem of anger.

~ 10 ~

Last Friday was gorgeous.  We knew the weather was getting ready to turn--and sure enough, Saturday was much colder--maybe we appreciated Friday's warmth more because of that.  When Josiah and David asked me if they could have quiet time together outside on that day, I was glad to say yes.  In this book...

 ...they discovered the idea to make a tent, using the clothesline.

 Their project involved a number of trips into the house...

 ...to get old sheets and other pieces of cloth from the rag pile, and of course, clothespins to hold it all up and together...

...but it kept them happily, busily, productively occupied in the beautiful fresh air and sunshine.  A quiet time well spent!  :)