Always go with your Mama intuition if you think something is wrong...always...even if it's just a false alarm. I do know that young children, when provided a healthy diet, are really good at naturally determining how much food they need by eating until they are slighty full but not stuffed. Sometimes they live off of just dirt and air. ;)

Last year I bought every child age 10 and older a pedometer for Christmas. Since we were already a walking family, I wanted all of us to each have a cool gadget (I already had one) to track daily steps for fun. Well a year later, my kids still wear their pedometers daily and love hitting their 10,000 steps each day (minimum step goal). Walking/jogging consistently as a family is something my own mother instilled in me as a child. She made us all walk an hour a day with her through a cow pasture and along a railroad (awesome memories). When I grew up and lived in the same city, my mother would still come over every morning to walk with us. Now that we live far away, she calls me everyday when she's walking to see how our walk went for the day. We usually talk about the nature we saw and how the weather was for the walk. I am thankful that my mother made walking important for our family because, as an adult now, I have it ingrained in my mind that an hour walk/jog daily is an essential part of my day; it's just what you're suppose to do regardless of fitness level or weight. (By the way, all of my three siblings each walk/run daily with their families as well.) My children have been brainwashed too...they are known to buddy up and go on their own afternoon walk/run to increase their step counts. Walking is part of our family culture. I like to sign our family up for a walk/run group event like a charity 5K monthly. Being a part of a mass of runners each with a race number is really motivating. I subscribed to a race guide to receive emails alerting me to 5K events in my area. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007ZWIJR2?keywords=omron%20pedometer&qid=1449413371&ref_=sr_1_1&s=exercise-and-fitness&sr=1-1

My children are listening to The Mysterious Benedict Society and really enjoying it. We also finished Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nihm today. The Phantom Tollbooth is our favorite for car trips.

I really was inspired by a bullet journal "show and tell" here. http://bulletjournal.com/show-tell-3/ Have fun with your new journal when it comes.

I highly recommend adding Signs and Seasons to introduce classical astronomy with constellations. http://www.christianbook.com/signs-seasons-field-journal-manual-pack/jay-ryan/pd/792212?event=ESRCQ

Caddy Woodlawn is available now too.

Theresa was one of three names we considered for our baby girl. Anna Theresa is sweet to me.

Speaking of adult coloring books, I just bought four for my...um...children. They have so many beautiful and intricate designs to color during read alouds, quiet time, and in between school lessons.

The mama is very beautiful with her litter. My DD7 especially thanks you for the video.

For a beginner sewing machine, I recommend this one: http://www.amazon.com/Brother-Feature-Rich-Stitches-Auto-Size-Buttonholes/dp/B000JQM1DE/ref=sr_1_1?s=arts-crafts&ie=UTF8&qid=1446933445&sr=1-1&keywords=brother+sewing+machine

For a beginner sewing machine, I recommend this one: http://www.amazon.com/Brother-Feature-Rich-Stitches-Auto-Size-Buttonholes/dp/B000JQM1DE/ref=sr_1_1?s=arts-crafts&ie=UTF8&qid=1446933445&sr=1-1&keywords=brother+sewing+machine

Last year I really loved my new fitbit, the kid's first online classes (Lukeion and AoPS courses), and OneNote for planning. This year I am excited about Project Life (scrapbooking by week), Julie Bogart's Periscopes (all things Brave Writer), and The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo. What are some of your cool, fun, life changing...discoveries of 2015?

Victoria Rose and she had a Cabbage Patch Horse named Smokey

My boys love Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson and Kipling's Captains Courageous.

I love the message in Enchanted Education: add surprise, chase life, and trust. I really can't remember how I learned about Julie Bogart's periscopes, but, oh, how timely for me. Julie is all about cultivating deep relationships with our children. My oldest is especially benefitting from my fresh inspiration to be more fun and engaged with my children.

I just finished watching The 55 List. I watch by replay and love her talks. Julie inspires me to keep building my family culture. Because of her periscopes, I bought her newest retreat DVDs.

The Princess and the Goblin Wheel on the School Farmer Boy The Good Master The Pendericks

When my husband forgot my birthday, this happened http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/564976-my-husband-would-never-admit-but-i-think-he-forgot-my-birthday/ BTW, Happy Birthday to the OP of that thread. What may happen if you miss the baby toddler years; shocking statistics http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/565008-do-you-will-you-miss-the-baby-toddler-years/

My dh took our children on an afternoon hike. When they got to the top of the mountain and signed their names in the register, they turned to go down and was so surprised to see the eclipse. One of the boys remembered that I mentioned it earlier this week. Dh snapped some nice photos of the children heading down the mountain under an eclipsed moon. It was a great night for clear skies and a headlamp descent.

Thank you all for your replies. I keep watching the video here with Parker's favorite things about Northwest Rivers: http://www.americanrivers.org/region/northwest/rivers-of-puget-sound-and-the-columbia-basin/

I just came back to Southern California from a week trip in Washington. My DH has an opportunity to change jobs and work in WA. I just loved our visit. Washington reminds me of Germany. I am thinking the grass is literally greener up there, and I want to make the move. So, do you live in and/or love the Pacific Northwest? Thanks.

I am using Beautiful Feet American History (both primary and intermediate) with Beautiful Feet Geography this year with my 5, 7, 9 year olds. It has been very pleasant and just right for the grades K-4. I was all set to do ancient history (we just finished Egypt and a bit of Greece), but my oldest told me how much she loved Beautiful Feet history when she was in 3rd grade. My children love coloring the scanned illustrations and adding copywork and things to their notebooks. Maybe changing things up a bit would help retention.

I highly recommend the Word of Promise Bible audio (available as an app as well as CD's). My children and I listen to a chapter or two while we're eating breakfast. I am usually juggling baby and toddler so Bible still gets done with the audio. https://www.wordofpromiseapp.com/purchase.html http://www.christianbook.com/word-promise-nkjv-complete-bible-cd/9780718024130/pd/024130?event=ESRCG

I will be homeschooling seven students (K-12) plus tending to a new baby and a toddler...enough said. ETA: Oh, FloridaLisa, your blog is beautiful. I have been so encouarged just now by your writing. Thank you.

We counted close to fifty in one hour last night and saw the International Space Station two nights in a row. There were some large ones, and we would all gasp in awe at the same time. (Viewing from Southern California near Mt. Palomar Observatory)