April 11

Do-Nothing Monday, we needed you.  We stayed in our jammies most of the day, snuggled extra-long in my big bed, and took things nice and slow.

This is what school looks like right now. I love it! We all read Story of the World, and then Caleb worked on his maps while the girls colored pictures of Vladimir the Great and Eli ate crayons colored.

Aren't they sweet?

Moments like this make me think I can continue homeschooling.

Wait... 1, 2, 3, 4, 5...? I don't have 5 children!

I found this little tagalong buckled into Lily's booster seat, and it gave me quite a shock! Out of the corner of my eye, I thought it was a real baby at our table. I love that Lily took the time to buckle her baby in, and give her a cookie, on a plate, with a spoon. She's a thoughtful mommy.

Often we also find Lily's baby in Eli's crib; Lily likes to put her baby down for a nap in there. She always closes his door and tells us all, "Shh! My baby is sleeping! Don't wake her up!" I love that girl.

Eli is also pretty funny. He kept trying to eat the crayons, but every time he noticed me watching him, he gave me an innocent look and immediately pulled the crayon out of his mouth and started coloring. I almost would have doubted myself, except for the fact that his bottom teeth were orange.

This child is going to make me work for my pay!

While the little ones napped, we got an exciting package in the mail: 

CATERPILLARS!

Daisy's preschool is doing butterflies, and we decided it would be fun to raise some of our own. Our habitat arrived last week, and the caterpillars came today.

It is likely that one of them is dead, but oh well. The children named the caterpillars:

Caleb named his Catty and Pilly.

Daisy named hers Lily and Banana.

Lily named hers Sophia the First.

I kind of just want to stare at the caterpillars all day, except that they also gross me out and I keep thinking they are dead if I watch them for too long. So I will try my best to ignore them.

Then we rushed to get dinner ready and everything set so that we could go to baseball practice. It was cold and windy, and I was thankful that Chris made it there around 5:00; I sent the younger three home with him and waited in the cold for Caleb. Caleb loves baseball, but is wrestling with being both a rookie and a perfectionist. It's hard to see how my little guy feels crushed by every correction, no matter how kind. I wonder if it's just who he is, or if it's something I have done to him or passed on to him. On the way home, we talked about his discouragement, being coachable, and having a teachable spirit. I just have to keep praying that he can overcome his perfectionism, and that he doesn't have to struggle with it for the rest of his life the way I do.

And then we got home, ate dinner, sent Chris off to the small business class he is teaching to a group of minority entrepreneurs, and I gave everyone baths. I managed to remember to do the carry for Day 11 of my 30 Day Wrapping Challenge:

This is Hip Cross Carry, and it was a no-go for us. I think I just don't like to do hip carries with my wraps; I prefer my ring sling for those. One more hip carry, and then we move on to back carries - my favorite!