OK.  That part about extreme is a bit misleading.  Maybe.  Then again, maybe not.  Anything you do with children is bound to be extreme, right? We have been homeschooling for a fairly long time – our oldest is nearly 17, and we homeschooled from the beginning.  If you want to get really specific, I whipped [...]

Filed under: 4 moms 35 kids, homeschooling | 27 Comments »

When I was a kid, it was almost a running joke in the family that our dad took the fun out of everything by making us write a paper about it.  Well, it would have been a joke if any of us thought it was funny at the time. Trip to the zoo?  ”You’re writing [...]

Filed under: blogging and business, burning questions | 48 Comments »

I haven’t done this in a long time, so I guess it’s time to post a pregnancy update.  The main reason I haven’t done it is because it seems a little pointless without photos, and…well…I’m not best friends with the camera, especially when I’m carrying a beach ball under my shirt and walking with a [...]

Filed under: pregnancy/labor | 47 Comments »

I just thought some of you would like to know that this sale is going on this week. I think they only do it once/year, and it’s NOW. Just go shopping on the Vision Forum website and free $50 gift certificates (passports, they call them) will automatically show up in your shopping cart! No need [...]

Filed under: Vision Forum | No Comments »

Posted by: Kittykait I’m all jazzed right now because I finally started an Etsy shop!  In case you didn’t know,  Etsy is a place like ebay for handmade, supplies for handmade things and vintage items. We’ve found it’s a great place to find inexpensive jewelry making supplies like pendants, charms, chains etc. I set up [...]

Filed under: Huh? Category? | 15 Comments »

Last night, I had an old dream with a new twist.  It was the common nightmare about losing your teeth – do you have that one?  I’ve heard that it’s very common especially among control freaks (who? me?) and generally means that you are afraid of having the “real” you revealed – having people see [...]

Filed under: deep thoughts, gone awry | 24 Comments »

This is the big day!  All 4 of us will be sharing one big linky event.  Share your Cooking for a Crowd recipe on one of our blogs and the link will show up on all 4 blogs:  The Common Room, Smockity Frocks, Raising Olives, and here on Life in a Shoe. First things first. [...]

Filed under: 4 moms 35 kids, food | 14 Comments »

Posted by: Lydia Mae I have 2 Fidelia dolls for sale. They are new from the clearance shelf. The reason these were on clearance is because one eye on each doll is a little lazy. See?  She looks like she’s winking. Vision Forum sells these for $75. I will sell them for $45.00 each/w shipping. I [...]

Filed under: Vision Forum, blogging and business, kids stuff | 5 Comments »

Many thanks to all of you who prayed for Dad during his surgery and especially to those who continue to pray for him and have asked about him. His surgery was successful, though the surgeons said it was more involved than they expected.  The tumor in the head of his pancreas was a little bigger [...]

Filed under: family | 5 Comments »

You probably come here to read about our family, but yesterday the big adventure centered around the status of our blog. Yesterday morning I posted a comment in response to a commentor and I didn’t notice until later that my comment wasn’t saved. Then early in the afternoon I published a post which instantly vanished [...]

Filed under: blogging and business, mom is neurotic | 12 Comments »

Friends, I know some of you are planning on coming to the upcoming baby conference here in San Antonio. I’m planning to be there with a 5 or 6 week old babe in arms.  I would love to see a show of hands, and I hope you’ll take time to introduce yourself in real life [...]

Filed under: misc. | 14 Comments »

Thank you to everyone who entered our latest giveaway for a free skirt from New Creation Apparel.  I think each of you provided valuable input on maternity skirts, and I’m sure you can’t wait to see what New Creation adds to their new category of maternity skirts! Our randomly chosen winning comment was: Jeanie, on April [...]

Filed under: giveaways & deals | 2 Comments »

You didn’t know it, but I’ve been publishing test posts all afternoon.  That’s because none of them showed up.  Which is why I was testing.  But I’ve heard that the 9th time is a charm, or something like that.  Here’s hoping. On the bright side, I’ll have learned something new when I finally figure out [...]

Filed under: blogging and business | 7 Comments »

“Cooking from scratch, and how we get it all done.”  That was supposed to be today’s topic, but I think it sounds like 2 entirely different genres.  One is non-fiction.  We actually do it in real life.  The other is a dream (or nightmare) most sane moms give up on about 6 weeks after birthing [...]

Filed under: 4 moms 35 kids, food | 56 Comments »

We have some broody chickens in our hen house.  The Buff Orpingtons in particular think they are ready to be mothers, but they invariably let others have turns in their chosen nesting box, and the result is 18-24 eggs under one hen in the course of 2 days, far more than she can hope to [...]

Filed under: food, gone awry, pets | 35 Comments »