Memorial Day 2006

Memorial Day was a blast - lots of fun, friends, and food! Here are some photos of the day (and incidentally, all of the children aren't mine) :

Down time with Miss Fran

Trying to catch the "big one"

Boy, these kids are tired!

Daddy and his baby girl

Where did I put my old thigh master?

Today after a lovely day at church (it is just so good to see everyone on Sundays, but Michelle and Melissa S., you were missed!) I braced myself and embarked on one of the most harrowing experiences an adult female can attempt: buying a bathing suit. I have avoided this for quite some time. I bought my last bathing suit around 1998. Seriously. I'm not trying to be funny. That was 4 kids ago. I have to be able to go to the pool now because we have one in the neighborhood, and talking me into going is one of the kids' great goals in life at this point. We have never had regular pool access, just on vacations, so I've been able to avoid buying swimwear at any point during the 21st century.

I went to Kohl's, thinking that whole mix and match thing would work for me. NOT! Angel accompanied me to the dressing room with my armful of tops and bottoms. After comments like, "Mommy, your tummy is wrinkly," I realized that none would work. This whole low-rise craze just doesn't work for bodies which have borne 8 children, and I didn't really think they looked that low on the hanger. Back for round 2, sans Angel. A little better. After about 4 trips to the dressing room, I emerged with a bathing suit I think I can live with. I have accepted my limitations, which means my selections are confined to the self-help section. You know, camouflage clothing (I don't mean military fabric). I have to interject how hysterical it was to see the suits that 4 of my kiddos were wanting me to try. Let's just say they're very into the gaudy factor, or "high tacky," as my mom would have said. I don't think I could have left the house.

Laughter: The Best Medicine

Forgive me, but I find this cartoon hysterical! If you're not a homeschooler, you may not get it. If you're a homeschooler and you don't get it, you're probably the family this woman would be nervous about! This is a cartoon from Todd Wilson, a.k.a. the Family Man. Todd had a booth at the GHEA conference in Atlanta at the beginning of the month. I think Kelly B., a friend from Conyers, bought every book he sold. My favorite was something like Lies that Homeschooling Moms Believe, but I'm not sure if that was the exact title. I can't find it on his website. I bought Help! I'm Married to a Homeschooling Mom for Bun last year, and I subscribed him to the Family Man Weekly e-newsletter, but I think his spam filter is nabbing it.

Donna M. and Kelly B. and I stood at the conference reading the cartoons in his books. I was laughing so hysterically I was crying. There was one that I kept trying to read aloud, but I would get so tickled I couldn't talk. At my awesome surprise birthday party, Donna gave me a tape of Diana Waring's "Hilarious Homeschool Workshop." She talks about disarming people's defenses with humor. I have really been thinking about this; it's amazing how much smoother life within the clan is when we inject a bit of humor. Bun is a bit of a goofball, so it comes pretty naturally to him. I, on the other hand, have a tendency to get a little uptight about what I think we need to be doing or accomplishing. I have noticed how great things are when I allow myself to be just plain silly (which I realize isn't much of a stretch - maybe I'm a bit of a goofball, too). "Disarmed" is the correct description of what it does to the kids; they stare like I'm crazy, then they get with the program, too. Maybe we have a house full of goofballs. Could be worse...