In case you were curious...

I have a lot of stuff bouncing around my head today and I just feel like writing. So, like it or lump it this is the place I get to do that. Where do I start? I guess I'll start with Toby. He discovered his first loose tooth last night. It's pretty loose too. He didn't quite know how to feel about that. At first he was over-the-moon excited about experiencing something he had seen his big sister go through. Next thing I know, Lorelai had spilled every last bloody detail and he told me that he probably couldn't sleep because of it. As far as I'm concerned, I've been there done that with her and I'm over it.  She's my first born after all, and every 'first' for her was monumental for me. That's why we have a bazillion pictures of her as a baby, about a million of Toby, and maybe two of Seth. I told myself that wouldn't happen. I would fill each baby book in detail and capture every moment. I wanted to remember every cute thing they said, and there were a lot. I just can't remember any of them. Besides all of that, teeth are gross. And so are eyeballs.

Toby is reading now as well, which is a totally different experience this second time around. It wasn't hard to teach Lorelai, but I know I made it much more difficult than it should have been. They are both very bright (of course) but where Lorelai struggled with the desire to read, Toby struggles with the ability to articulate the sounds. He didn't qualify for speech therapy because he can say a lot of his trouble sounds some of the time. For example, he can say them in the middle or end of a word but not at the beginning. That means he is developing but at a different rate than some kids. I'm so thankful for a caring Speech Therapist at our local public school who took the time to test him and meet with me to give me a lot of helpful advice. I am now enjoying the rewards of being the one to work with him and hear his progress. He misses several sounds but of those, g and k are the only two sounds he is developmentally supposed to have mastered at age 5. I was surprised to learn that it is normal for some children to have difficulties articulating certain sounds (th and /r/ blends) even until age 8! I have started incorporating articulation activities into his daily lessons, but if he doesn't progress then he will qualify for therapy during the next school year.

While I'm on the subject of school, I guess I'll rant a little bit about home schooling. Yesterday we walked in the door after meeting with the Speech Therapist and taking a detour to Mimi's house and I said, "Home sweet home." Without missing a beat, Lorelai said, "More like home school home," in a not-so-enthused tone of voice. I guess I had made it all too clear that we would be doing lessons when we got home. There are some things I've learned to live with, and her lack of enthusiasm when it comes to school is one of them. (Lorelai, if you are happening upon this post sometime in the future and wondering if I even love you at all, first let me say that you are only able to read this because of me. You are also only able to breathe because of me, well me and God, and I guess your Dad had a little something to do with it. That being said, I'm sure you know that we had our ups and downs during 'school time' but I wouldn't trade the opportunity to teach you for the world. I can say that even now while I'm going through it. You never cease to amaze me with your way of thinking and your personality, as strong-willed as it is. I can't wait to see what God does with you and what you do for Him. I pray that He will guide me in teaching you what will benefit you in the future He planned for you. I hope you can now say that He did.)

Home schooling is a challenge. I used to say it's not for everyone, but now I think that if I can do it ANYBODY can do it. It's all a matter of will and what you feel is best for your children. We're all just doing the best we can. I have gone back and forth on how long I will home school and today I feel sure that I will more than likely continue home schooling through High School. It will not be the end of the world to me if I ever end up having to put them in public school. I don't fear what will become of them if that were to happen. God is big enough to keep them no matter what. I might question the education they would receive, but even that is not the most important thing in this life. And neither is a clean house, which I certainly don't have about 90% of the time. I have come to the conclusion that it is utterly pointless to try to keep the house clean on a school day. Actually, it is almost impossible to keep the house clean during our school session. Which is a good reason to love our school schedule. I can clean the house and get everything organized during our week off then spend the next 5-7 weeks destroying it little by little. I'm ok with that. It's actually fun if I can admit that. I give myself complete permission to live in filth knowing that I will eventually get to it. Filth is a strong word; maybe organized (and I use this word loosely) chaos would be a better description.

I will close with three random things that make my days as sweet as chocolate pie.

-My husband's random "I love you" texts
-Jesus Culture radio on Pandora
-When Seth is trying to get my attention and he decides hitting me and screaming my name isn't working so he starts whispering "mommyt, mommyt." (Sometimes he adds a t or k or even an s to the end of words he wants to emphasize. It's so cute!)