The Anvil

I recently read a book called The Little Book of Big Reasons to Homeschool by David and Kim d'Escoto. It was a good book, confirming all of the reasons I want to teach my kids at home. At the beginning of the book is a really good poem, and I thought I'd share it. It's called The Anvil of God's Word, by John Clifford.

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Last eve I passed beside a blacksmith's door
And heard the anvil ring the vesper chime;
When looking in, I saw upon the floor,
Old hammers worn with beating years of time.

"How many anvils have you had," said I,
"To wear and batter these hammers so?"
"Just one," said he; then with a twinkling eye,
"The anvil wears the hammers out, you know."

And so, I thought, the anvil of God's Word,
For ages, skeptics blows have beat upon;
Yet, though the noise of falling blows was heard,
The anvil is unharmed - the hammers gone.

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Anyway, there's my post for today. Now I'm off to do some homeschool research!

Time for some organizing!

It's time to start getting life organized! If I ever want to be successful at homeschooling four kids while running a house, I'm going to have to get my life in some kind of order. I thought I'd make a quick list of things I'd like to do or put together in the next few weeks so that bringing the kids home will be as painless as possible.

Around the House
*Weekly cleaning schedule (for bigger household jobs)
*Meal planning (and stick to it!)
*Chores for the kids
*Plan out daily schedule/routine
*Schedule/routine charts
*Home notebook (to keep it all in one place)
*Go through toys in playroom

Homeschooling
*Modified workboxes/notebooks for the kids
*"Together work" notebook for me
*General school calendar (for keeping track of planned breaks)
*Make extra weekly planning pages for other (non-Sonlight) curriculum
*School schedule/order/routine
*Start setting up schoolroom
*Go through curriculum (is anything missing?)

My Mental Block

I think about writing on this blog every. single. day. Seriously. Everyday I write two or three posts in my head. So why has my post count been sitting at 370 since the end of August (and really, the last three posts I wrote, one in August, and two in April, don't really count)? The last thing I wrote with any kind of substance was on March 3rd! That's crazy, considering how much time I spend writing...in my head. So, I've been searching my heart, and my head, for reasons why I can't seem to make myself write.

Distractions. I've got four kids, two of them are under three years old. Let's face it. I have lots of distractions. Just in writing that first paragraph, I got out of my chair four times to stop Zeke from screaming about his sister helping him build a train track. Four times. And two of the kids aren't even in this distracting picture. I find it difficult to sit down and write, to keep my thoughts flowing when................... (Add another distracting moment there.) Anyway, it's hard to sit down and keep the words coming when you have to get up and down and deal with problems. (Phew, just sent Sierra and Tyner outside for some much needed fresh air. Hopefully I can get this done now). What really needs to happen is that I need to prioritize my kid-free time and try to fit writing in there somewhere. (Ignoring the fussing baby who is supposed to be taking a nap.) I need to choose morning nap time when Zeke is outside playing, or afternoon naps when Zeke and Emma are both sleeping, or after bed when all the kids are ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Ugh ugh ugh ugh ugh ugh ugh ugh..............................can't ignore the fussing baby much longer. Apparently she doesn't need a nap this morning.

That is what my life feels like right now. A series of dots.......waiting.......being completely and totally distracted to the point that I can't even find myself anymore. I've got to get this figured out. I've got to find a way to get myself back. I'm drowning in this sea of chaos.

Blah.

Maybe my brain will work some other day and I can write a coherent post then.

Until then.........................

Hello Blog. I miss you. Someday we will be reunited. I promise.

What's in your crockpot?

Connie over at Smockity Frocks is hosting a Crockpot Carnival! Go over and find a new recipe. Or share one of your favorites for the rest of us to enjoy. Go! Now! Hurry!

This is the one I shared. Love it!

Passion...

The internet is not my passion. Neither is the TV. So why is it that I spend far more time on these two things than on the things I really enjoy? Why don't I knit or read more? Why am I not in the kitchen more? Why am I not out running? What's the deal?

WIP Wednesday: The Sweater 2

You thought I forgot, didn't you? Well, I didn't! I just wanted to work until the last possible second.

Here is Zeke trying on the sweater. Don't mind the '80s cut-off look. I promise it's going to be longer than that.

Where I stopped tonight. See that white string way down at the bottom, kind of peeking out from behind the curled up edge? It's running across the whole front of the sweater. That's called a lifeline. I will be using that to put on the pocket, if I have enough yarn to do that.
Okay, it's late. Way past when I wanted to go to bed. Both littles decided that a late night party would be fun. But they are both sleeping now, so it's time to head to bed. Goodnight!

4 Moms, 35 Kids Live-blogging

Four moms with larger than average families have started a new series. It's called 4 Moms, 35 Kids, and they post something new every Thursday. Last week they posted what a "typical" day looks like in their house. Today they are live-blogging what their day actually looks like.

Here are some links if you want to check them out:

The Headmistress at The Common Room.

Connie at Smockity Frocks.

Kim at Life In a Shoe.

Kimberly at Raising Olives.

These may hold my attention more than Facebook today.

WIP Wednesday: The Sweater

Okay, so it's not technically Wednesday anymore. But I promise I took these pictures before midnight!

Here is the beginnings of the sweater. This is the front view. The little dip in the middle is the front of the collar (or where I will start the hood if I have enough yarn).

This is a side view. Those little lines there, that are spreading from the top? Those are the shoulder seams. Pretty cool, eh?

I'm making this with yarn that I dyed. I'm really liking how this is turning out. Can't wait to see it with the trim yarn (solid gray).

So, that's the sweater for now. I'm hoping sure I will be much farther next week.

To Do list - Wednesday 3/17

I have a WIP Wednesday post to do later today, but I'm hoping to knit more on the sweater before I show it off. But I thought I'd put my To Do list up, for motivation. Here goes:

*Laundry

-Colors

-Jeans

-Towels

-Our sheets

*Dishes

*Empty dishwasher

*School

*Call WIC office

*Call Kristi about cookies

*Call Jenny about party and cookies

*Fill out MediCal paperwork

*Call Worker about tax refund

*Knit

*Clean our bathroom

That may or may not be everything. We'll see as I go through the day. I will be back later to hopefully cross some stuff off.