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Wow, 2 months since and "actual" post......that is record of no-activity for me.....I think?  Even if it is not, it is still a long time to keep y'all hanging.  I apologize.  Life has been busy. Priorities were shifted.  As I mentioned before, writing about my life in this blog, while fun, takes a back seat to actually living my life with my kiddos.  And we have been doing some living lately.  You have probably guessed that a "Random Recap" is in order.   So here is the condensed version of my last two months:

   My baby is SIX months old!  Say whaaaaa????? Yeah, I know, right?!  Mike's super sperm has proven to produce super babies because "Little E" started army crawling at about four months (NO joke!), by five months he was lifting his tummy off the floor practicing his "baby push ups",  and at six months (the first half of six months) figured out how to put it all together and is full-fledged crawling now.  Lord, help me!  No, really.....please help me keep up with 6 mobile children on a daily basis! 

{Yep, that is the end of the non-mobile stage}

{He can't get enough of his siblings!}

  My youngest son is a spitting image of my oldest son. Don't believe me, look for yourself!  I think I had the same baby twice!

{AJ on the left in early 2003, Ezra on the right in early 2013!)

  We FINALLY had a little bit of snow this year.  Right when I was SO ready for winter to be over we got 12" of the white fluffy.  It was followed up by almost 60 degree days and it was a weird phenomenon being able to have a snowball fight while wearing a T shirt.  Really weird!  We took advantage of it and made a huge snowman, snow ice cream and enjoyed far too many snowball wars.

{Snow Ice Cream (and yeah, we added chocolate syrup!).....Thank you, Pinterest!}

{Just the beginning of our 12" March snowfall!}

  Two of my children received glasses.  Both are doing really well with them and I am thinking after Maddie goes in for her consult, she will end up needing some too. Esotropia runs in our family BIG time.  Half of our kids have been plagued by it to one extent or another.  My oldest had surgery at the age of 3.  He may need it again.  We will find out in May.

  Although I have been continuing to loose the baby weight, I am starting to get lazy on the clean eating because I am growing content.  I am only 3 pounds away from my High School weight and 7 away from my goal weight.  I need to push through and finish so I don't drag it out indefinitely.  I am so proud of myself for finally putting my treadmill to GOOD, HARD use. 

{photo taken to text to my acountablility partner, Lauren so she is certain I my butt was on my treadmill.  Lauren, BTW, is doing AM-AZ-ING!}

{a couple of weeks ago, with about 11 pounds left to loose}

  School is going GREAT this year and it has probably been one of my most productive years thanks to the planning I so diligently accomplished last summer.  It has worked so well that I am convicted to do the same this summer and have already started to get our supply list and curriculum choices pinned down. I will do another post on this in the future.

{Maple Sirup Days (yes, that is spelled right...google it!).  We were blessed to have Papa H. come along!}

  I have TOTALLY given up on "a picture a day".  We have just too much going on. Sometimes I remember and other times (okay, most times!) I forget.  Again, priorities.  I am not going to stress about tossing that to the way side. 

  I am starting to toss around some blog post ideas for you all.  Some will be done in video format, because, honestly, sometimes it just faster for me to video tape something then to have to type it all out (and inevitably misspell every other word, leave out complete phrases and completely botch punctuations solely because my brain runs 25x faster than my mouth can even keep up, let alone my poor typing fingers. Some ideas I have stirring in my noggin are:

• Homemade eye makeup remover (LOVE this)
• Schedule update
  
• My chore pack system
• Curriculum contenders for 2013-2014
• School budget for 2013-2014

Any other topics you would like to hear me rattle my jaw about?

 

We FINALLY started school!  I had planned to start late this year due to my little bundle of joy arriving right at the beginning of the year.  I figured that the school year would feel a little disjointed if we started and then abruptly stopped after just a week or two into the year.  So we waited till after delivery and our “baby moon” that allowed us time to snuggle all day with Mr. E. (which by the way I LOVE to do!).

Since we have started I thought I would share with you a couple of school related posts:

• Our Homeschool Journey (below)
• Curriculum Choices
• Classroom Photos
  
• School Photos of the Kids
• School Schedule

This is my 6th year homeschooling…..Yeah, you read that right!  It kind of scares me!  I will have to say that I didn’t really find my groove until the last 2-3 years, so if you are new to this, take heart.  You CAN do it!  

A recap of our homeschooling career:

Fall 2007: I started homeschooling AJ in Pre-K when he was 4 (he has a late birthday so most of the year he was 5).  We were not really convicted yet about homeschooling.  We started out with workbook based learning which was probably a bit too tedious and “table-worky” (read: he had to sit still) for our very active and young son.  I struggled with doing too much too soon and expecting it to be much more rigid than it needed to be.  (We had three kids at the time, 4, 2 and 10 months and I was pregnant with our 4th much of the school year)

Fall 2008: Our second year of homeschooling I was a little too intimated to do “real” school (since he was a 5 year old “true” kindergartener now) because we had just had our fourth baby RIGHT before the start of the school year. So with a newborn, a 19 month old and a just recently turned 3 year old, I bowed out gracefully for a semester and sent him to a GREAT Christian school about 25 minutes away.  God used this time to really convict me about homeschooling.  We ended up bringing him home in the middle of the school year and continued his education through Kindergarten at home.

Fall 2009: Our third year I had a first grader and four year old that wanted nothing more than to read read read!  She practically taught herself and could read (at three!) and was darn near the same level as my 1st grader!  So, I taught 1st grade and a very advanced preschooler this year with a 2 (almost 3) year old and a 1 year old toddling around!  

Fall 2010: Our fourth year I really started to get into a nice grove even despite the fact we added another baby in September, right after we started school.  I had a 2nd grader, a Kindergartener, and a 2 year old, a 3 year old and a newborn. 

Fall 2011: Being that it was my fifth year homeschooling, my confidence in what I was doing soared.  I was no longer in those “easy” early years where I could just “wing” it.  I planned better because of this fact and we had quite a great year.  We had a 6 week break in this school year because I (surprisingly) found out I was expecting and was throwing up for a good month or two at the beginning of that pregnancy)  We just adjusted the school year to allow for some summer catch up. Another awesome perk to homeschooling: flexibility!

first day of school

"The Fall of the Roman Empire" party

Fall 2012: This year, my SIXTH, I took the things that worked out so great from last year (planning) and ran with it!  I planned the WHOLE year, down to the projects we were going to do.  I gathered all the supplies I would need before the school year. I also made library lists that included call numbers of the books and asterisks to mark the books I would have to request from other libraries so that I remembered to allow extra time to get them.  I mapped out the kid's independent reading and our classic literature selections as well as our historical fiction books that will coincide with our history studies.  Although I am only 3 weeks into this year, I can see it will be such a blessing to have it all organized! This year I have a 4th grader, a 2nd grader, a Kindergartener, a Pre-K, a 25 month old and a newborn!  I am actually finding out that it is totally doable after feeling somewhat exhausted this summer from trying to figure out how I was going to make it all work (teaching 3 completely separate grades, teaching one to read, and keeping after a toddler all the while nursing a newborn round the clock).  It works out better in real life than it did on paper, THANK GOODNESS!  It CAN be done! When I feel something is not doable I have to remind myself that God doesn't call the equipped, he equips the called!

Are you homeschooling?

How long have you been doing it?

I have had an iPhone for about a year now and LOVE it.  While I still prefer to have ACTUAL keys (instead of a touch screen), and the auto correct has embarrassed me more than once, I love having all the (FREE) apps and I use my phone for everything.  It is so nice to have SO much at my fingertips.  I thought I would go through my apps and how I use them in my daily life with you!

Starting with these:

Starting with the top left:

Text Messaging: Honestly, I really thought I wouldn't use it much, but I was wrong.  Texting has some advantages.  Namely, for me, is that there are SO many times I can't actually engage in a two way conversation where the caller isn't subjected to hearing the chaos daily on goings of my household (I have been on the both ends of that type of a conversation and it is hard to focus). In my "line of work" having uninterrupted time to talk is a rare occurrence....ya know, the homeschooling 3 kids while keeping up with a preschooler and toddler too......and soon nursing a newborn constantly.....yeah, that little part of my 24/7 profession!  With texting it is easy to answer when you can or delay a response when you need to discipline, serve a meal, or grade a math assignment.  Also, I send a lot of photos....to my sister (who lives 2 hours away), my parents and to my husband. 

Calendar: It is so nice to carry my personal calendar with me at all times and to be able to set reminders that will buzz you 2 hours prior (or 2 days prior) so I am less likely to forget my doctor's appointments, my kids practices, games, co-ops dates, and all that other stuff.

Photos/Camera: I will sheepishly admit that I barely ever take photo on an actual camera.  I know, I know, there is no excuse, but this iPhone is just so handy; it is always in my purse, has a decent camera on it and I can upload the photos to snapfish, facebook, photobucket or text to a friend/family member instantly.  Convience wins out!

YouTube: Yep, I LOVE me some informational how to videos!  Everything from (FINALLY) learning how to properly hand wash bras to gardening/pruning tips. Oh, and this is also a lifesaver in a restaurant when food is taking too long and I have a cranky/hungry 1 year old at the table....Dora the Explorer, anyone?

Maps: I can't believe I still remember a time when you had to have your navigator rotate large, cumbersome paper maps in their laps to find streets that written in the TINIEST print ever.  Yeah, reading a paper map is a skill you SHOULD possess, but if given the option, an instantly updated map with GPS with turn by turn is WAY better!

Notes: I keep notes on everything.  Some that are in my phone now are: blog topics, fall to do lists, crochet patterns, Nicci Lynn Production list (crocheted items I need to complete), what I need Mike to add to the hospital bag when it is time, movies that I want to see, sewing patterns that I want buy and the kids clothing needs and their sizes (in case I stumble on a good sale).

Clock: I use the "timer" feature ALL THE TIME!  It is my kids "time out" timer.  Yeah, otherwise I forget they're in their room/naughty chair and that is just ineffective parenting because by the time I remember that they are in time out I have forgotten what they did and I can't address the problem very efficiently then.

Bible - LOVE this app!  It has all different versions of the Bible and it will read it to you!  For morning when I fail to eat before the kids I use it to read us our Psalm for the day.  Also it allows me to listen to the reading (I try to get in one chapter a day) that I am on while I am getting ready in the morning, drinking my coffee or even in the van.  A nice way to get scripture in even when you are busy.  You can also bookmark scripture that you would like to meditate on, add to a prayer  request or memorize later with a quick swipe of the finger. 

Prayer Pro: Another one of my favorites.  It organizes all of your prayer requests and you can add photos, prayer detail, categorize the prayer and schedule it (pray for it daily or only on Mondays...etc).  It also allows you to email the person you're praying for and let them know that you have prayed for them today.  After your prayer has been answered you can check it "answered" and it is stored away.  Totally awesome app!

Facebook - yep, I rarely use facebook on my computer anymore....and it is convient to post photos with this app. 

Facebook pages - this is for my business FB page, Nicci Lynn Handmades.  Allows me to manage and post updates, coupons, photos, and announcements on my business page. 

Shopping List: LOVE this app.  I use this as my grocery store list app.  Once and item is entered the app saves it into the aisle that you designate it to and then you can arrange the aisles based on the store you shop.  So when I am going through the store it is all put in the order that it is in the store....no more wandering back 5 aisles to grab something that was further down on the list.  Also I can email, text or send the list to someone else, like Mike, if I can't get to the store.  SWEET!

 

Pandora - I stream music ALL THE TIME!  Even when we are out on a family walk we can have a litte background music.

The next couple are grouped together under "Photo":
They include:

BeFunky - Photo editor that is great

Instagram - Photo editor and frames

Pic Joiner - photo collage maker

Pic Shop Lite - another editor (I need to delete because I never use it)

Photobucket - allows me to upload to my photobucket account which is how I store/share my blog photos

Snapfish - where I back up all of my photos and where I print my photo books and prints from

Craigslist - Allows me to post stuff for sale and my husband has a bit of a Craigslist addiction. He uses this A LOT!!!

And the ones at the bottom:

Phone - no explanation needed.  It is, after all, an iPHONE!

Mail - Email.  Again, I rarely check it on my computer anymore.  Sorry for the short, auto corrected responses, friends!

Music - my Itunes music

Safari - Internet....used ALL. THE. TIME.

And I will be soon posting a "Page 2" to finish sharing my apps with you all!  Stay tuned!

So this is a funny thing to post on a blog such as this, but I have actually had a number of emails about my hair!  And after explaining my “hair madness” to a close friend of mine I decided I would just do a post about it.  First and foremost, I will have to admit that I was blessed in the hair arena.  I inherited my mother’s dark, wavy, THICK hair that grows fast.   BUT, my natural hair attributes have only been enhanced by my decision to do “less” with my hair.  

I plan on posting three separate blogs so not to overwhelm you! The first (this one) will be on my sock curls.  I have done these numerous times now and LOVE the results.  I am posting this blog first because they are mentioned in the second and I don’t want to confuse anyone.

The second blog will be my daily dairy of hair progression for 5 days (the normal time I go between washings) so that you can see how my hair responds to being washed so infrequently.

The third will be FAQ’s……SOOOOO….if you have anymore questions before I get to posting that blog be sure to ask them in the comments section on this post or the next and I will try to answer them in the final post.  

On with the show…

SOCK CURLS!!!

They are soooooo fabulous for people who want those big, luscious curls and don’t want to spend 3 hours sectioning, spraying, curling and fussing with their hair everyday.  This technique literally takes me under 5 minutes and the results look like they took at least an hour AND they last all day (which if I used a heat curling iron would NOT happen!).  It works well on my hair (thick, wavy, LONG) and also on my daughter's hair (thin, medium length and wavy) so I am assuming it would work well on most hair types.

Start by watching the attached video.  This is the one that I used when I did them.  Basically I do the same thing other than I don't leave bangs out.  I don’t really have “bangs”, only long layers so I just throw the front back with the top section.  So in the end I have a top, and two sides, totaling 3 sections. My top section I usually loosen the hair going back so that I don’t have a “flat” front in the morning.  Just pull on the front part after putting it up so that it lays looser and not so tight back (so it sags a bit in the front – not the most appealing imagery, I know, but the best way I can describe it!).  

 

 

 

 

This is my hair after sock curling on three different occasions.  It lasts all day and usually gives me beachy waves on the second day

Here is the day after…still holding some of the definition.

This is my daughter's hair right after taking them out. (Her hair is much thinner than mine)

And this is late afternoon and after her playing hard (outside).  Still going strong.

Tips

• Make sure you twist the hair as you wrap it around the sock.  This is what gives it a spiral appearance.  
• Instead of wetting your hair use some leave in conditioner and then VERY lightly spray it.  The leave in conditioner controls the frizz while giving some hold.  I use a thick ball about the diameter of a nickel for my hair.  Only use it at the ends and up to the nape….never on/near the scalp.  
• Brush and brush and brush your hair and smooth it nicely before wrapping in the sock.  The smoother the hair the sleeker (less frizzy) the curl will end up.
• Make sure your ends are neatly and smoothly tucked in before tying the sock.
• When removing using a very small amount of leave in conditioner or frizz serum and rub between your palms and then run your hands over the bottom (nape of hair and underneath) half of your hair.  
• Use only your fingers to separate curls…DON’T BRUSH – you’ll end up looking like a giant poodle!
• The curls will tame a bit (relax and become a little less voluptuous) in about 30-60 minutes so don’t freak out if they are a bit “bold” to begin with.  

If you have any questions PLEASE remember to post them in the comments field.  I will try to answer them the best I can in the final post (FAQ hair care) in a couple of days!

It is no news to you if you have ever read this blog more than once that I am the queen of typos!  Yeah, shocking, I know! (if you were even able to read the last post before I fixed it, God bless you!) LOL!  In the busyness of babies, toddlers, homeschooling, discipline, cooking and a myriad of other things,  writing this blog is something I squeeze in when I have a few minutes.  I rarely ever proof read (BAD TEACHER, BAD!), but I guess you will just have to deal with it until I have a nice quiet house and more than a few uninterrupted minutes to post.  You may be waiting a decade or better for that to happen.

While I try to be as typo free as an ADHD, mother of 5 can be, a friend of mine brought it to my attention that I left out the final rise step on my bread recipe! AHHHHH! Recipes are one thing that I try NOT to have ANY typos in.  And that is an IMPORTANT step! Not letting bread rise is NOT a good idea!  My bread tutorial included the final rise, but the recipe itself didn't mention it.  SORRY!!!!

So to all of you who baked a brick instead of fluffy wheat bread, I wholeheartedly apologize! I fixed it, please try again.

Thanks for bearing with me!

LOL!  I didn't find out until quite a while after I blogged that my microsoft-to-internet formatting was a little off!   Sorry for all the run-on-words in the last post.  I went through (VERY briefly) and tried to fix them.  I may have missed a few, but it will probably be much easier to read now!

As I have stated before this blog is a kind of “journal” for me in a way.  It allows me to be able to capture and share memories and experiences that happen within our family.  Most of my emails from people who read this blog are pleasant, welcoming and encouraging and they put joy in my heart to hear from them.  Then, occasionally (okay, rarely – only once or twice in the 3 years I have been blogging) have I received unfriendly guest book signatures or emails. Personally, if I wander onto a blog that I disagree with or think is silly I just choose not to continue reading it, so I guess I just assume that is what other would do if they didn’t like mine.  To each their own.  Years ago I would have been offended or hurt by the mean spirited comments on something that is so personal to me (my family), but as I have become more mature it actually make my heart sad for those write such things. 

Just to be clear, the comment wasn’t “hateful” or did it even verge on harmful, it was just sarcastic, rude and meant to belittle our family’s endeavors.  I have already erased it and probably wouldn’t have given it much thought.  The person left an “anonymous” name (“An American” is pretty anonymous, I guess) and a fake email address which makes me feel even a little worse for said person: they didn’t have the self confidence to leave their name or contact information and went to the hassle of making oneup.  Although, I doubt I would have even contacted them. 

What’s more is that is was someone that we know, someone who we’ve hung out with before.  While we haven’t talked to them in a while, we never had a falling out – just drifted amicably (or so I thought) in the busyness of kids, school and different towns.  Nothing has been done or said between the two of us that would have ever provoked such a comment.  When this said person left a guestbook signature they also left an identifying tag that linked it to a computer which I have received emails from in the past, so it was easy to figure out who undoubtedly sent it. 

When you interact with people in any form (in person, on theinternet, at school, at church) you inevitably will come across people who disagree with.  The mature thing to dowould be to agree to disagree and remain amicably distant, not to lash out mean-spirited, sarcastic comments especially in a public form on a family’s personal website.  I guess what I am trying to say is if you don’t have anything kind to say and think our site is silly then don’t spend your time reading it and re-visiting it.

As some of my high school writing teachers can attest to, I have always had a passion for vibrant, descriptive writing.  The kind of writing where the words paint, illustrate and animate images deep within your heart, that sparkle with so much light that you can almost taste the beauty of the moment described.  Reading them is pure magic and writing them is an endeavor that leaves me with tangible evidence of a spectacular, fleeting moment in my life the way no other medium can.  What always slowed me down in the writing department was grammar (and occasionally spelling as well!).  I had only vague ideas where commas should go, when semi-colons should come out of hiding and sometimes a fragment was exactly how I wanted a thought to be read and felt, grammatically incorrect or not. Once graduated from high school, my creative writing slowed and eventually tapered into nothingness.  Always needing….craving a creative outlet I sought my fix in photography, crafting and homemaking. I suppose I still write (you are reading this, aren’t you?) about my experiences as a Christian, daughter, sister, wife, mother, and friend.  Although, this blog holds more a conversationalist feel.  The way I would talk to you around my wood stove with a cup of coffee while nodding and rocking whatever baby is nearest to me.  While I rarely write them down, these descriptive words float on wisps, like a dandelion head blown in the breeze, in the jumbled thoughts of a mother of 5 - here one minute, gone and forgotten the next.  When thoughts drift across my path of consciousness I often don’t have the means or tools to write them down.  Appendages are busy holding a piece of my own flesh; giggly, bright and dimpled or folding the softness that covers my tiny cherub’s plump skin.  Obstacle after obstacle slip between my fleeing thoughts and that #2 pencil that sits just out of reach.  Why interrupt this beauty to describe it?  I feel silly giving graphite symbols to my thoughts swirling around inside me like spinning little girls draped in sweet summer sun.  They are constantly there giggling and dancing in the background of my mind and penning them is their only release.  Formal words that rouse such emotion sound silly, even to me, their crafter, escaping from a simple mouth like my own.  Spoken, no.  Written, maybe.  As silly as they may sound out of my lips or yours I have been inspired to stir them up again.  To see what creative language is lurking at the bottom of the creek bed of my imagination.  An author whose writing style smells a little like a graduated version of the words that I stumble over in my head daily wrote a wonderful book that I am currently entangled with.  This books talks about naming, describing God’s gifts as you see them, vivid and clear.  Naming each blessing with words not unlike Adam was given the privilege to name the birds of the heavens and the creatures of the blue abyss.  The book had beckoned me to capture moments in words; words dripping thick with so much color and depth that I could relive each moment, each blessing by pouring them out again in reference.  So excuse me while I set aside my old conversation style of writing know and again and replace the simple words with a more poetic form of soul-nourishment.  It feels good even now, only just remembering how it feels to paint again with the inky black curves and lines that are soaked in moments of my life.  I plan on sharing some of my gifts from my “A Thousand Gifts” list with you all.  A list complied of the simple blessings that fall all around me, minute by minute, that eventually cover me deep in God’s greatness. This book (A Thousand Gifts - look in the sidebar to the right!) is a must read! Honestly I can say if I could afford to do so I would purchase as many copies as my shelves could bear and scatter them like stars in the sky to every friend and relative.  Yeah, it is just that good.  Word of caution: Open this book with the expectation that large pools of tears will run down checks onto throats knotted with empathetic hurt from the very beginning.  Have Kleenex handy and prepare to be swept into the great poetic imagery of the author, Ann Voskamp.

The fire is flickering. I am rocking. The kids are playing at my feet.  My hands are creating a pair of oh-so-cute shoes in the next size up for my growing girl.  Life is good.  Happy Friday!

After being asked several times about a website, I finally slapped something together for my crocheted items.  The site is brand spanking new and I not sure if I am done with the formating and layout, but you get the picture.  It showcases my handmade items for sale and links to my etsy shop (which is EMPTY at the moment).  It also gives prices and my contact email.  If you want to grab a button go to the site and take a HTML code on the sidebar and link up.  Hope you enjoy!