Bailey Family

I was trying to wait until the front reached chin length and then give her a nice even bob that could grow all together down to her shoulders...but....as she never left her 'style' in more than an hour or so and it was constantly looking scraggly and mullet like in the back, I decided to go ahead for it.  Even with the front hair still shorter than her chin (and barely long enough to tuck behind her ear), it still looks so much better. Why'd I ever put it off?  It looks like a short/medium cut with side bangs.)   It's hard to tell what it looks like from these pictures - she was my best "first hair cut" of all the kids (as a do-over, I would not have done Seth's myself - boys are hard enough as it is and he was afraid of his shadow...let alone the scissors), but she was totally excited about it - just not the "after pictures". Guess you'll just have to make an effort to see us soon if you want to see it better!

Not a very descriptive title, is it? Probably I should have gone for something like, "Beth and School" or "Trying not to turn this into a soapbox on public schools" or something like that. NOTE: This is a long "thinking" post...more article length than quick update length...so if you're short on attention, might as well skip this one. :) If I had known then what I know now, I would have planned my babies exactly when they came (maybe squished a little closer together in age on the end there, or maybe not - depending on the day). Huh? You say.  What I mean is - I want to keep them at home as long as I can (without homeschooling them), so I'm glad they were all born in the fall, or at the beginning of the year (instead of spring or summer when they turn 5 and then BAM - they're in school.) I do think having as many as possible before the first starts school is a good idea (because a baby and a school schedule didn't go so well for ...

Dear Heavenly Father, We 'sank zee' [thank Thee] for dis day. Pwease bwess Wauren [Lauren] to get out of da hostible [hospital] and pwease bwess somebody to get a job and pwease bwess da food. In Jesus name, Amen. (she forgot someone, so she added) and pwease bwess Memere's finger. In Jesus name, Amen. [again] :) I'm not sure whose job she is praying for (maybe my brother in law?), so if you need a job, consider yourself prayed for by my toddler. I love when my little ones start praying "all by myself".

Whoever said, "Wow, what are you going to do now that you only have 1 at home?" was probably thinking lots of free time to craft and sew and cook and sleep and read and run errands, ..... And while I did get a project done this week, and while it is easier to get just 1 kid out of the van instead of 3 or 5, I still have all the same stuff I did before (minus the time I spent reading with the twins last year during Alee's nap).  However, to be more specific, here's the real answer to the question. I added 2 things to my day (since last school year) 1.) I spend a little 1 on 1 time with Alee after our morning errands, work, etc. 2.) Naptime is mine again - which this week turned into 2 days of cold-recovery naps and 2 days of project (one I've been putting off for, hm, about 2 years. :) (For more details on our schedule/life and how the school year is kept in balance, stay tuned for the next post!)

Mommy: "Can you go put that back? I don't think Carolyn likes people to mess with her stuff." Alee: "I WIKE [LIKE] to mess with her stuff!"

What an exciting year - and a little sad. My twins are going to kindergarten. They are so ultra prepared, but I still miss them...It was easier to let the first two go. I made them special dresses (the smocking pattern was actually chosen for Carolyn's 1st day of school dress for Kindergarten 2 years ago...but with a 9 month old, that never came to fruition!) But I got both done this month (one was already smocked from earlier). And I made up the pattern as I went, pulling pieces from this pattern and that pattern, and following this tutorial here, and making it all up to fit my own way in the end...(thankfully, the flaws are all hidden). (The skirt is a circle skirt...so with shorts underneath, they twirled off to school...) (The dresses last week) The first day of school - story below... Natalie - a little shy, but ready to learn  Kaitlyn - my loud mouth smarty who's a little unsure if she wants to be separated from her twi...

I have been making homemade pizza since 2006.  I will admit that I am still working on perfection in this area, but it has come a way over the past few years to the point where I prefer my pizza over several of the fast food chains - but then, that doesn't set a terribly high bar, does it? :) The reason I began making pizza back when I had 2 kids was that I really loved it and used to eat it regularly growing up, but couldn't afford it. (There was no $5 Little Caesars where I lived and every other place was $10/pizza then. And we'd have needed 2 for our family then - now we would need 3 Pizzas.) That just isn't affordable for 1 meal on a regular (say, weekly) basis. So, I thought, I wonder if I could make that homemade too (I have a fascination with trying to make things I could easily buy homemade to see if I can make it better or cheaper - or both!) So, I started researching, knowing my mom had never really found a good recipe or made it well (and therefore, mu...

This is the last summer activities post -  Week 7 -   Monday (July 16th) - fun photos day -  actually, we did this Tuesday along with our regular library activity because I thought I could fit gym and activities into the same day Monday. Nope. Kids learned to use the camera, then took 5 pictures (you can see 1 from each child below), then played a guessing game of each other's pictures (distorted somehow in photoshop). Wednesday - String Games I got a book from the library (that had TONS more than the ones I learned when I was young) -  I think Santa might be bringing some official cat's cradle strings/books to the 3 girls who really love string games - I've already added some to my Amazon wish list! (such a simple way to entertain quietly). Thursday - Zoo Day Friday - visit to Dad's work Weekend - Natalie's turn While Natalie was away at Memere and Grandpa's (having a blast at the children's museu...