A Senryu

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haiku

a mom's vacation
doing all our daily tasks
closer to the beach

(ht: The Onion)

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haiku: at least 4

long sitting laundry,

just how many times can I 

rinse that load again?

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Seven Quick Takes - Haiku Version

~1~
To tired to think
haiku easier than prose
not so many words

~2~
I am thinking that
my New Year's Resolution
is not to make them

~3~
I've found just the thing
Wii Fit gets me off the couch
Stronger every day

~4~
children coughing and
all sorts of other wild things.
prayer for next year? Health.

~5~
ran all day, maybe
burned off a potato chip
counting calories

~6~
Monday is coming
our brains mushy and muddled
too long without school
(and sleep)

~7~
many thanks to my
awesome readers, you have made
this year delightful


For  Seven Quick Takes,
see the ever clever Jen:
  Conversion Diary!

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Blog Business

Just an FYI, I moved my old haiku blog from Homeschooljournal.net to Blogger. I really liked Homeschooljournal.net, but I have several blogs here at blogger and it was basically to keep my head from exploding by having too many places to control. :)

The new link is http://haikuofahomeschooler.blogspot.com

It is very bland right now. Maybe someday I'll get a nice banner photo or something. And maybe even write haiku again.

ETA: Ahhhhh! In trying to upload another template I have royally messed things up over there. Hopefully soon it will look normal!!

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:-) :-) :-)

That's all I can say:

:-)


And I think everyone's haikus were wonderful. Catholic family life is so full and beautiful, isn't it? Even in the rough parts.

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Oooo, go vote, go vote!

I'm so excited! Two of my haiku are up for nomination to win a year's subscription of Faith and Family Magazine. I won't tell you which ones are mine, just click on over there and vote for the haiku you like the best - the one that best shows Catholic family life. Honestly, I don't think it's mine! :)

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Haiku Friday

They scrub, dust, vacuum
Should have thought of this sooner
Earning their screen time

My house has never looked cleaner. I'm solving two problems at once: the one where I'm too lazy to do housework busy homeschooling and taking care of the littles and so can't get to everything, and the constant plucking at my last nerve driving me insane requests for computer and TV time. They are now required to do work to earn that time. Not their normal chores, but things I normally do that I'm not getting to -- an extra vacuum after a particularly messy meal, cleaning the bathroom sink/counter, washing the kitchen floor.

I'm getting a clean house and they're learning how to do housework and how to work towards something they really want. They still pester me constantly, but at least it's now, "How can I serve you, Your Highness" "What can I clean to earn computer time?" instead of the constant, "Can I watch TV? Can I play on the computer? Can I? Can I? Huh?"

Yesss.

For more Haiku Friday, visit A Mommy Story!

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Haiku Friday

hey feverish child
please learn the difference between
tissues and my shirt


Poor Jeffrey has a cold and is probably reacting to his latest shots at the same time. Poor Mommy has not slept in two nights. Here's hoping we're over the worst of it!

For more Haiku Friday, visit A Mommy Story!

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Haiku Friday

happily playing
stacking cups in the kitchen
silence: a bad sign


Hey, I thought I left that bowl on the table...


ooo, let me smear it around a little more and help mommy clean the floor...


I'm hot stuff...


For more Haiku Friday, visit A Mommy Story!

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Haiku Friday

only 6 AM
weeping in my cereal
mothering is hard

baby up all night
haiku-ing is also hard
too tired to count

(eta: apparently also too tired to spell! LOL)

Let me just say haikuing is the best therapy. Some quiet moments, bringing all the angst and chaos of the day (or night) into just a few syllables. I feel like I can breathe again after containing the mess in a poem. Now, if I could just do that for the laundry...


for more Haiku Friday, visit A Mommy Story!

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Just fyi

I'm messing with blog colors, headers, etc. I can't seem to get it the way I want it. Just saying, "This is not me." I don't have the tools and the knowledge to do much about it, though.

It's hard to leave it this way! It's like reading a half done poem.

ETA: Ack, that reminds me, it's Haiku Friday!! Ummm....here goes:

hours spent chasing
what will properly capture
the elusive me

For more (and better!) Haiku Friday, visit A Mommy Story!

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Haiku Friday: Birthday Edition

sweet baby Jeffrey
forever my baby boy
Happy Birthday, Son!

Yes, I know I'm posting this on Thursday, but today we celebrate the exciting first birthday of Jeffrey! I like to make a big deal about first birthdays, because I feel like it's a little celebration for me, too. Jeffrey has survived, grown, and thrived, and so have I! (well, maybe not *thrived* - but I've definitely survived and grown). And while I struggle with the first year, this 12-18 months age is one of my absolute favorites. :) Jeffrey himself was so excited about turning one that he took his first steps yesterday!

So here are some gratuitous shots of Jeffrey to celebrate his big day.

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Haiku Friday: Hypocrite Edition

just control yourself
I smugly think, to those who
often overspend

I pride myself on
being frugal, no credit
card catastrophes

I'll just get diapers
I told myself, and entered,
mental blinders on

I couldn't resist
Target: shopper's Waterloo
I'll take four, to go


Next time I'm sounding smug about being frugal, and buying only what we NEED, just say "homeschool uniforms, Amy?" and I'll shut up. ;-) But honestly, the look on my dh's face was worth it, when all four girls filed out the door to show him how they looked. Too cute. Now all we need is a little blue polo shirt for Jeffrey. :)

For more Haiku Friday, visit A Mommy Story.

ETA: If you click on where I said "I couldn't resist" up in the haiku, it's actually a link to the uniforms on the Target website. I don't have a picture of the girls because my dh doesn't like me to show too much of them online.

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Haiku Friday

oh my little boy
with tongue as blue as your eyes
don’t eat the Play-doh

A repeat from my haiku blog from this week, because I'm too tired to be *extra* creative today (i.e. come up with a whole separate haiku ;-) ). For more on Haiku Friday, see A Mommy Story.

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My own one word meme

I have yet to do the other one going around, but I'm doing my usual "daybook" in one word format:

weather: cloudy
temperature: cool!
dinner: early
why: gymnastics
vegetable: potato (baked)
protein: hot dogs (I know, gross, and more than one word, LOL!)
fruit: honeydew
salad: romaine
harvest: tomatoes (8)
preschooler: napped
baby: cranky (my fault I think -diet cheat)
girls: creating
what: story
homeschooling: math
and: spelling
mood: inquisitive
feeling: accomplished (as long as I keep my eyes closed, ha)
washing: diapers
planning: writing
wondering: schedules?

Hey, speaking in one word utterances is good haiku-ing practice.

practice: necessary...

saying: g'night :)

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Haiku-ing hiatus over

At least I'm going to try -

I'm going to start attempting to haiku back at Haiku of a Homeschooler again. I need a creative outlet. :)

I can't promise anything great though. I felt kind of haiku-ed out after the first few years. I mean, just how many math haiku can one person write?

I stopped years ago when I felt done and "all written out," but now I'm itching to try again.

So bookmark it and shower me with comments so I feel loved. stop on by if you like! ;-)

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Haiku Friday

Mouth patrol over
I'm free! I'm free! squeals Jeffrey
I'm free! sighs Mommy

The doctor prescribed five days of "mouth rest" are over for our 10-months-old-today Jeffrey. The dentist said that would give his loose replaced tooth the best chance of catching hold again. He is reveling in his new freedom away from a crazy mommy who carried him everywhere, constantly pulling his hands out of his mouth and grabbing everything fun from his reach. I'm quite relieved too -- that was totally exhausting!! My nine and ten-month-olds have always LIVED to put anything and everything in their mouths. It's how they learn! Trying to prevent that 24/7 that was very frustrating for both of us.

There's no guarantees the tooth will heal, even years later it may have a more tenuous hold than his other teeth (well, not the one they pulled out completely, LOL, that's in my dresser in a baggie).

Now that I've grossed you all out completely, I promise to stop talking about it. ;-)

Happy Friday! I'm off to reclaim the house and children that turned wild while my attention was necessarily on the baby. :)

For more on Haiku Friday, visit A Mommy Story!

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Haiku Friday: Because I promised to talk about something other than calorie counting

Washing machine broke
Should I be sad or joyful?
One less chore today


Yestderday I informed St. DH that the washer wasn't agitating. At first there was a horrible grinding, clacking noise with the non-agitation, but thankfully, that stopped. What stopped it, I'm guessing is when the part in question actually FELL OUT of the washer on to the floor. ;-P

It's a 10 year old washer, so we're (read: DH) are trying to figure out if it's worth it to pay for a repair when this is probably just the tip of the iceberg in terms of parts breaking. If it's just going to go in a landfill however, I don't want that. But I also don't want to spend more than the cost of a new washer in repairs in a two year period.

In different but similar news, our lawnmower also died this week. Amazingly, just two weeks BEFORE the warantee was over. That stuff never happens, right? Serves us right for having the washer break, then. We had run all out of "good luck." :)


For more of today's Haiku Friday, visit A Mommy Story. :)

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Haiku Friday

A little late today! Life got in the way of haiku-ing...

watch, read, talk, cook, eat,
laugh, write, play, surf, rest, think, love.
We are unschooling.

(although today was more like clean, talk, drive, talk, watch, talk, change because it got warm, search frantically for that one lost shoe, drive while eating, talk, send gifts, make a late dinner... LOL)

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