One World Birth

This is a movement that I've been keeping an eye on, and I'm very excited to see their "launch video". The editing is clean and watchable, and the content (people interviewed, really) is comprehensive. Take a look today, and then go back tomorrow to see what their finished site looks like!

First day of 1st grade!

Or "real school" as Jonathan insists upon calling it. :) He's attending a private Lutheran school this year, and I think it is going to be a really good fit for him.


{please excuse the messy floor - we were trying to get out the door on time!}

The other boys didn't want to be left out of the picture taking:



Jonathan had a hard time with me leaving, so the little boys and I came to opening chapel and sat right behind the first graders. I was so proud of Thomas and Siah - they were not expecting to have to sit quietly in church, but they did SO well. Right before the end of the service I whispered "Bye, Jonathan" and took the other boys out. We sat in the parking lot for a moment and I watched Jonathan filing back to his classroom with the other kids - just like he'd done it every day of his life. Yay Jonathan!

Today was a short day, so I picked him up at lunch time. On the way home I asked him what he did, and he told me that they read a book, and had snacktime, and chapel, and made "welcome back" visors. Apparently the book is quite interesting, and Mr. Rader will continue reading it tomorrow, and this is all very exciting. :)

While Jonathan was at school, Thomas and Siah and I had our own preschool time. Siah elected to paint (of course! this is all he ever wants to do!)



and Thomas chose an ABC workbook. I'm excited about preschool with them this year. Preschool is all the fun of homeschooling with none of the pressure. :)



I think that this is going to be a good year.

Renovating my wardrobe

Remember all the work I've been doing in my closet? One of the pieces that landed in my "hmm..." pile was a simple purple cotton dress from the clearance rack at Target. It has a faux-wrap bodice that is really cute, but as designed it gave an (ahem!) quite amazing view. When I first bought it, I tacked the wrap together in an attempt to fix that little problem, but it just wasn't possible to tack it high enough without messing up the bodice lines. Almost high enough, yes, but not quite!

My friend Elizabeth is quite a seamstress, and she convinced me that it would be "easy!" to add a little lace insert. And she was right! The result not only fixes the low-cut problem, but also makes the whole dress look nicer!



I think this dress now belongs in the "keep" pile. :)

Josiah counting

"One, two, three, four, five, six, seventy, eighteen, nineteen, one hundred! Yippee!"

On a completely unrelated note, here is the budding artist:



Love the tongue. And all the colors! His painting is getting a lot more complex and purposeful.

Snuggles

This morning I woke up to a small face, inches away from my nose, and the request: "Mommy, can I snuggle with you?" I doubt there is a nicer way to wake up.

I was reminded of my gentle wake up when I read Bethany's post this afternoon, entitled Waking Up Natural. Click over there and enjoy her sweet perspective on mothering, sleep, and the choices we make.

In fairness to the cat.

He only gives us the evil eye when we give him a bath. :) Most of the time, he's the sweetest kitty you've ever met. He hasn't torn up our furniture, he hasn't bitten or scratched anyone, and he puts up with the boys (oh-so-loving!) manhandling!



All the boys enjoy Raskol, but Thomas seems to have a special love for him. If he could, I think he'd carry Raskol around with him all day.

I still have some allergic reactions to him, but even so? Adopting Raskol was a really good decision.

Here, kitty kitty...

We gave Raskol a bath on Sunday afternoon. I think Gabe kind of enjoyed it.



Raskol, not so much. You've just never seen "pathetic" until you've seen a cat in a bath tub.



Ooh, if looks could kill!

a Reasonably Clean welcome!

Rosie (daughter of the wonderful Auntie Leila) is hosting a link-up for the Reasonably Clean welcome areas of our homes. If you've read much of Auntie Leila, I'm sure you know that "Reasonably Clean" is one of her themes. (after all, if you aim for perfectly clean, you don't have time to read that novel...)

Last time the challenge was to make our kitchen sink pretty. This time, to make our entry welcoming. Not only for friends, but also for ourselves!

Anyway, Rosie's post inspired me to get up off my duff and DO something about the mess that has been depressing me all day. I took "before" pictures for contrast and motivation:


The front garden, completely ignored. Daisies gone to seed in the back, mint gone to seed in the front. Ugh.


The toys...well, there's not a lot I can do about those. I hope that they say "children live here, and yours are welcome too!" :)


The entryway, full of random stuff. I've been tripping over it for two days - time to move it out!


This counter is my nemesis. Somehow everything collects on it! I think it has magnetic powers.


The table top has magnetic powers, too. This is remarkably clean, actually.


Amazingly, there is no laundry on the couches!


The general mess on the floor needs to go, though!

So those are the "before" pictures. And now...the "after"!


That looks welcoming!


The garden has been entirely fixed up. Dead plants cut back, dead leaves raked and deposited in the worm bin, daisy seeds and sweet peas planted in hopes of a secondary summer growth (we can do that in sunny socal!) And everything covered with beautiful rich dark worm dirt.


We took a break to eat cherries and finish up a couple of fun projects (which had been sitting on the counter!)


Hey, we can walk without tripping now! All the way through!




And my counter is gloriously clean. A mug of pens, a basket of fruit, and a plate of cookies are the only things on it!

Frankly, I feel fantastic now. :) I hope this post and all the others have inspired you to go make your entry a welcoming place!