Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Raising Olives is Moving
I will be leaving this site up, but all new posts will be over there. Come on, what are you waiting for http://raisingolives.com/, move it!
Monday, March 16, 2009
Not Me! Monday - Ice Cream

Thursday, I did not fall asleep on the couch at 7:30pm surrounded by 9 rambunctious children and so neglect to give the children their special surprise treat of ice cream to celebrate that Suzanne
This post has moved to our new site. Read Not Me! Monday - Ice Cream or visit our homepage and choose the Not Me Monday category to read more Not Me Monday posts.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Not Me! Monday

When I was getting our two youngest boys ready for bed, I did not discover that my task was made lighter by half because one of them was still in his pj's. What kind of mother would let one of her children stay in his pajamas all day?
I have not been staying up late AND getting up early. If I did that I would be grumpy and difficult to get along with and I have not been grumpy or difficult to get along with.
I did not go to the library book sale three times last week. We already have loads of books and I am running out of shelf space.
If I had gone to the book sale multiple times and purchased more books than we have room for, one of those books would not have been a book about de-cluttering. Wouldn't that have been counterproductive?
Go visit MckMamma's blog to see what others have not been doing this week, or check out my other "Not Me!" Monday posts!
Wonder how a family of 12 functions? Checkout my home management or homeschooling posts.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Not Me Monday

I did not allow the ant farm on the table during dinner, nope not me. Who wants to eat while watching a bunch of ants scurrying and digging, well, except for my husband and 9 children?
When I discovered that the children were digging their hole to China at the base of our slide, I was not less-than-thrilled. I mean who wouldn't want to slide all the way to China? I am not going to make them fill in their giant hole and start all over again, back in the woods, not me.
I did not dress my 10 month old in a Christmas outfit in March. I always dress my children in season appropriate clothing and their outfits always match.
I do not
encourage allow our 2 year old to run around in his underwear just because I think he looks way too cute in his boxer briefs.
When I brought the rug in from the deck rail, I did not discover bird poop on it. I am a devoted mother, so did not balk at the idea of cleaning up after a BIRD.
When packing for our trip I did not forget to pack my hose and shoes for church. After all I only had one outfit to pack.
When I took my camera outside to play a game with the children, one of the children did not ask if we were doing it for the blog.
If you are curious about homeschooling or how we manage our large family, you can click any of the category words in the sidebar to see more. Some of our most popular posts are The Schedule and Daily Chores.
For more "Not Me! Monday" fun, visit MckMama on her blog.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Not Me Monday-The Sick Addition

Since the four youngest children have been sick this week, I have decided to do a themed version of "Not me!" Monday.
When one of the children gets ill in the middle of the night I do not gather all the soiled linens, clothes, and animals and throw them into the bathtub to deal with in the morning. That would be gross. I diligently rinse everything and start a load of laundry, so that I won't be behind in the morning.
This week when the rug fell victim to the illness in the middle of the night. I most certainly did not take it out to the rail of the deck, pour a couple of pitchers of hot water over the affected area and leave it to deal with later. It did not stay out on the deck for three days until my husband asked if it was part of our new deck decor, finally prompting me to clean it thoroughly. It is most certainly not STILL out there half covered with snow waiting for the temperatures to rise above freezing so that it will thaw out and then dry.
During the night that our two youngest boys (Colby-2 and Nicholas-10 months) were most actively sick, I did not let them share a puke bowl. They most certainly did not decide to use said bowl at the exact same time. When finished, Nicholas did not try to splash his hand in the contents. If he had tried, I, being much faster than a mere baby, would have stopped him before he was successful.
Our sick children have not been consuming ginger ale, blue Powerade, Jello, and Popsicles. What kind of mother would allow a sick child to ingest that much sugar and artificial junk? If that were happening my health conscience children would NOT be enjoying it. They would be asking for something with a little more nutritive value.
I have not been secretly relieved that for the past week I have only had to cook for 7-9 people rather than the usual 12. I would not rejoice even slightly at my own offspring's misfortune.
Head over to MckMama's site to join in the Not Me Monday fun!