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Do you do #lunchatthelibrary over the summer? Check
https://www.fns.usda.gov/sfsp/summer-food-service-program to see if your local library participates! In
our county, we can get free lunch for all the kiddos (anyone 18 and
under) Monday-Friday!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BV-GnQLlLqP/

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When Daddy works from home, it usually means that breakfast is Daddy's
homemade biscuits! Today, we are enjoying them with Peach Butter that
@dhwestcott54 and @papabearwestcott brought us back from their visit
to Tennessee! ❤
https://www.instagram.com/p/BV9v6XVFlcO/

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Does your textbook do this when you finish your math for the year? 😉
Somebody has earned a dinner date with Mama! #khanacademy
#techinyourhomeschool
https://www.instagram.com/p/BV69xfMl8Y8/

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Found! The glasses that were missing for almost a week have now been
located! Do you ever feel like the list of lost items in your house is
kind of like the laundry hamper - never quite empty? We're always
finding missing things while adding others to the to-be-found list!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BVzfWzmFied/

Hearty Exercise

Hazel ran around and around in the school room and then flopped on the floor.

"Whew! I can feel my heart beeping!"

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Who says 12-year-olds are too big for the kiddie pool? There's even
room for sharing! 🙄😉
https://www.instagram.com/p/BVpZEqfF5-i/

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Love this kid. Even more than I did twelve years ago when he was born.
At dinner, his younger siblings shared what they love about him.
General consensus? He's a fun big brother with a big, tender heart. I
couldn't agree more. ❤ Happy Birthday, Luke!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BVnypfeFF7X/

Also, here's a little video photo collage I put together for the occasion:

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What my little man is doing while the big kids are at VBS. He has only
recently (as in, in the last couple of weeks) gotten to a point where
he will even take a bath without screaming the whole time, so I
figured it would be best to introduce him to pool play while the
others were away. (And I have a separate, bigger pool for them.) The
moderate water level is just perfect for him and was filled by big
brother one pitcher at a time by with warm tap water from the sink.
Those two are such good buddies!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BVkONOeFwkL/

Unfriendly

Henry and Emma talk VBS.

Emma: So, Henry, how many girls are in your class?
Henry: Three. I made friends with one of them.
Emma: Was it Robyn? [who is also in Henry's class]
Henry (incensed): No! She's my SISTER! She's not my FRIEND!

Truthfully, they are great buddies. He just thinks in very black and white categories! 🤣

Henry Homophones

Henry: Hey, you know what? "Wok" [walk] and "wok" [work] sound just the same!

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Super nutritious breakfast buffet for the week. It's VBS week and,
inevitably, things which eventually lead to a break for mama also
result in some extra effort and hustle on the front end. And I'm all
for lowering the bar to make that as minimal as possible! 🙄
https://www.instagram.com/p/BVhNkgKlIlM/

Historical Memories

Robyn, working on her history yesterday. "Hey, Emma, do you remember the dates for 'Remember the Elmo?'"

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Around early November we have this tradition of making a paper chain
to count the days until ... Mama's birthday, Robyn's birthday,
Thanksgiving, Mama and Daddy's anniversary, Christmas, Daddy's
birthday, and New Years. Last night, the girls made a paper chain to
count down towards something else. Wanna guess what it's for? 😁
https://www.instagram.com/p/BVUYcyvgcNO/

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This guy, who really struggles with reading, is voluntarily reading.
On a tablet. A choose-your-own-adventure, Minecraft zombie story. And
you know what? I'm fine with that. #whateverworks
#dontdespisesmallbeginnings #onestepatatime
https://www.instagram.com/p/BVQCDYfAr4I/

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Whew! So excited to finally be at #HEAVcon But this pregnant lady is
about done for the day. That, and my tablet battery died. 😉 Wrapping
up a few things and then I'm going to hit the hay and wake up tomorrow
to jump in with both feet!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BVGSLJRAGQG/

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Out with the old, in with the new. And the unexpected jungle
(including a fallen tree right on the property line) that the poor
fence guys are going to have to wrangle today. 😮
https://www.instagram.com/p/BVE-SlQgegV/

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Today is already a busy day getting last minute things together for
#HEAVcon 2017. As if that weren't enough moving pieces, add in a
midwife appointment on my way into town and NEW FENCE INSTALLATION
today!! Crazy, but so long overdue. This house was a foreclosure we
purchased from an investor who did some quick work to put it back on
the market ... including installing a fence with (non-ground-treated)
landscaping logs as fence posts. 😕 Here are the "before" pictures.
Not sure how much of the "during" I'll be here to see, but the "after"
will have to wait until Saturday evening!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BVE8ZpxghC-/

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#HEAVcon 2017, here I come! Can't attend this year? Follow me here for
live updates from workshop sessons and the exhibit hall. Maybe even
peek at the UCS with me! Live posting starts Thursday afternoon!!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BVBPv3NgsdP/

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10 am and most people are still in pj's. I'm dressed (if yoga pants
count) but I let the girls make breakfast. Some people are still at
the table as I type. Littles are playing dress-up and pretend in an
already-exploded playroom. A friend said this morning "I know you're
busy with a lot of little ones" and it got me thinking... What is
"busy"? With lots of kiddos and low energy from a challenging
pregnancy, we live a pretty slow life. We stay home most days. There's
very little on the calendar (except for Mama's prenatal and
chiropractic appointments). And yet, I regularly feel like what I have
in front of me takes all the energy and mental capacity I have.

So, is "busy" a measure of how much you do or accomplish? How much is
on your calendar? What proportion of your daily resources you are
using? What about you, Mama? Does your life feel "busy"? And what does
that look like for you?
https://www.instagram.com/p/BU1ykdTAaIY/

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Do you ever find that you have to purposefully take days to set aside
the planned curriculum in favor of all of those opportunities for
hands-on learning that you never seem to find time for? We did this
morning, and everyone (kids and mama included) really enjoyed it.

We got out our brand new microscope (as in, it was a Christmas gift
and we haven't even unpacked it until today)! The first thing we
looked at was a worker bee leg right at the joint. Emma was impressed.
She said, "This is the bee's knees!" 🤣

When was the last time you stepped off-plan and just explored or took
time for something you're always having to say no to because there
isn't time?)
https://www.instagram.com/p/BUzZtjYgKR8/