Author Archives: Chayli

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I should've cleaned up the boys' room.
I should've cleaned up the green room.
I should've cleaned the shower.
I should've cleaned the car. (Are we noticing a pattern here?)
I should've mowed the lawn. (Oh, wait, it was raining.)
I should've done bookwork.
I should've paid bills.
I should've done Bible Time with my little boys.
I should've sorted the next size of clothes for Emmett.
I should've done flashcards with Sebastian.
I should've practiced reading with Alec.
I should've gotten up early enough to see Eric off to work.

But I did do the dishes.
I did fold the laundry. (The overflowing, falling over, loaded to the gills basket of laundry.)
I did bake the cookies I had mixed up yesterday.
I did make granola.
I did pick up the toys.
I did sweep the floors.
I did walk for twenty minutes.
I did read my Bible.
I did work on a photo project that has been on the past two winters' to-do lists.
I did feed and water my chickens.
I did read to my baby.
I did play Candyland with my five-year-old.
I did practice memory words with my kindergartener.
I did kiss my husband on his way between this and that.

You win some; you lose some.

And this is me not losing at blogging by not breaking my blog-every-month streak.

Today felt like a productive day, should'ves aside. 🙂

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My problem is that I can't decide if I'm going to actually blog about something, and then I sit on it, and then more and more time passes, and by the time I decide that yes, I do want to blog about it, it's almost a month old.

Well, that, and sickness. Days and days and days of sickness.

But here I am again with part three of our little jaunt south. (To be decided if any more parts are coming. Check back in a month, haha.)

The first full day we were in California was Eric's big concrete pour. The second day was Valentine's Day.

Imagine my surprise when that morning (after working till 6am, mind you) Eric produced flowers, chocolate, DOUGHNUTS, and some toys for the boys! Bless his heart, instead of grabbing a little much-needed sleep, he'd spent one of his hours between concrete finishes to run into town.

I was so surprised. 🙂 ...continue reading →

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Me: briefly considers retreating back into blog silence.
Also me: proceeds to post three posts in five days.

🙂

Back to the California trip . . . if you missed the first installment, here it is: https://www.michaylaroth.com/2024/a-little-jaunt-south-part-1/.

After the Crater Lake fiasco, we drove a while longer and then stopped for the night at a KOA. Word to the wise when traveling in a motorhome: hook it up to water before you leave on your maiden voyage.

But we had literally been so busy in the days leading up to leaving that that hadn't happened, so it wasn't until we were hooked up at the KOA that we discovered that the toilet leaked and the shower didn't work.

Oops. ...continue reading →

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I've had two scares this week, one with each of my boys.

I say each, as if I only had two. The other one was just over there earning Student of the Month and stuff. 🙂 (Thanks to Alec's grandma for the sweet pic!)

On Sunday, Emmett and Sebastian were down with Eric at the shop, and Sebastian hoisted a metal rod, not realizing how heavy it was, and somehow in there it slipped and hit Emmett right near the eye.

When Emmett came in with a bloody gouge under his eye, I asked what had happened, and it honestly just chilled me. If he had been standing a little closer. Or if his face had been turned a different way. Or if he had been bending over. So many possible ifs.

That metal rod could have so easily left my baby sightless in one eye, and I couldn't bear to think of it. I don't know how many "Thank You, Jesus"es I said, both out loud and in my mind, again and again.

Thank You, Jesus, that it wasn't worse. Thank You, Jesus, that it didn't directly hit his eye. Thank You, Jesus, that we are home and not at the hospital. Thank You, Jesus, that my little Emmett still has both his beautiful eyes.

It drove me nuts to even think of the alternative. ...continue reading →