My mom is alive and we talk about twice a month. If I didn't call her I'm not sure how long it would be before I heard from her. My mom has never been very "motherly." My sister who is 12 years older than I am has always been more of a mother to me than my mom. I talk to her 3 or more times a week.

Beginning our 15th year here. I have graduated two with four more to go!

Here!

How wonderful for you! We are in the process of replacing our floors and we are "camping out" in our house too.

I did combine my schoolroom with a playroom when my three littles were 1, 2, and 3. My older boys weren't that easily distrated - they were used to the noise! It worked out great for us.

Emily - Thank you for letting us know. I'll be praying for your mom.

August 23rd.

It is not easy, at least around here. I ended up having to call the governor's office to get my son excused, and he was in Afghanistan serving in the Marine Corp!

I have it scheduled for when we are covering Attila the Hun. I am also just discovering Kate Seredy and my youngest is 11.

Way more than 10. I don't know how many, but there are Bibles that belong to all 8 of us here and everyone has multiple translations.

I remember when this happened with my oldest. I would hear his voice and it would startle me because I thought my dh had come home. Warning - Gross! The first time he got sick after his voice changed, he was throwing up and I thought he was going to die it was so loud. He was just MAN throwing up instead of little boy throwing up. It was weird.

I usually drive one-handed at 6, unless I am in a stressful situation. Then it is 9 and 3.

Welcome!:seeya:

My 17yo told me last week that I look young . . . from far away! Is that a compliment??

This is how it goes in our house too.

Yes, I have found another mom who is willing to trade off with me. It will at least make it doable. I talked to dd and told her how early she would have to get up, that she would likely have some homework in the evenings, etc. She said, "Okay, then." :confused:

Yes, this is a competitive level. The gym we went to a couple of years ago only had afternoon/evening classes in the fall too, but this gym is a much more selective/competitive. You can't just pay and go there, you have to try out.

I totally agree with you. She is our sixth child and I would have told you a few years ago that I would never do this. If would be easier if she wasn't so good :001_smile: (2nd place all-around in Regionals, which is 10 states). This gym has a coach who has coached Olympic gold medalists during their Olympic wins, and we have two girls who are alternates for the National team right now. She is passionate about gymnastics and is such a hard worker in everything she does, whether it's gymnastics, schoolwork, or chores. I keep thinking maybe she'll burn out, but I don't see any signs of that.

The coaches at my 11yo dd's gymnastics just told me that dd will move up a level in the fall. Great! The only problem is that practice is from 12:30 to 4:30 every day, and the gym is almost an hour from home. I don't know how to do that. I have three other kids at home who would be missing a teacher, and how is my dd supposed to get her schoolwork done? I know that all the girls at this level are homeschooled and some of them even go to school at the gym (they have a "homeschool" for the gymnasts). I don't want my dd to be away from home all day every day, so school at the gym is out. The only way that it could work is for me to get a ride with a friend who lives nearby whose dd is going at the same time. Maybe exchange her taking them down for me picking them up? I am going to have a talk with dd. She will have to get up and get started about 6:00 a.m. to get most of her schoolwork done before she leaves for gym. How do you other moms with kids in competitive sports manage schedules?

I have six and lost brain cells with every one (even my dds, who are adopted). I have started telling dh and the kids the same thing over and over, and they just start laughing when I start talking. That's how I know I've already told them. I remember laughing at my mom for that. I can't remember words for simple things sometimes. I take the wrong exit on the interstate ALL the time. I forget which kid I am taking where. :001_smile:

Me either.

I have read both of them (Angela's Ashes and Their Eyes Were Watching God). I enjoyed them both, but I would not allow my young teens to read them. They are adult books IMO.

I just tell one of them to clean it up/find it. They will usually say, "It wasn't me, it was __________." So tattling works for me.

This is how I look at it. I got tired of being angry the whole time I was sorting clothes. I finally just decided that I wouldn't let it bother me, that I would just do it as part of my laundry job. I don't get angry sorting laundry anymore.

I have dinner ready by 6:30, but people trickle in from activities until 8:30 so we never eat together right now. I am hoping that our schedule for the fall will allow us all to eat at 6:30. I don't usually finish clean up until everyone finishes - 9:00 or so. Not the way I like it, but that's the way it is right now.