The children shed clothes EVERYWHERE. They're like long haired dogs but worse. I wonder what people must think when they come over and it looks like the washing machine barfed all of the front room. Socks, underwear (shamefully, yes), shoes and random pieces of clothing all over the front room floor. And how is it that while at home I am constantly tripping over shoes, but when it's time to go, nobody can seem to find a matching pair?

When clean clothes are taken from the laundry room to the bedroom the children are given strict instructions to put them away. Inevitably the clothes are dumped out in a big pile and jumped in like a pile of fall leaves. This poses an entirely new problem. Since there were already dirty clothes on the floor each article of clothing must pass the sniff test to determine whether it goes into the drawer or into the dirty bag. It's not that we're not picking the clothes up. We DO! Every evening we get the children ready for bed and pick up ALL the dirty clothes off the floor...just like we did the night before. I just don't get it. Where does all these dirty clothes come from? I'm starting to suspect the knomes again.

Socks are by far the worst. The children will run outside in their socks. Come inside take them off run around barefoot. Want to go outside, get a NEW pair of socks. Mom insists on shoes this time. Come back in. Shoes go off. Run through spilt water on the floor. Take socks off. Get new pair. Within just a few days a two week supply of socks is exhausted. Since the socks get thrown to random places instead of into the dirty bags they don't get washed in the regular rotation. Then I get blamed for not providing them with clean socks.

Getting dressed in the morning is like pulling teeth. A broken record can't possibly repeat itself as much as a mother does with her children. Elle will wander around quite happily in just her underwear.

I am starting to see the virtues of being a nudist.

The scraps of paper left behind after making an army of paper people. I love that they're so creative, but the mess left behind is epic!

My profile is on Mormon.org

Hi I'm Aimee

About Me

I am a large license daycare provider for up to 12 children, though I really specialize in infants. I feel blessed because this allows me to stay home and teach my own six children through a charter home-school program. I have my degree in Chemical Engineering, but after the birth of my first child, I couldn't bear to leave him and go back to work. I love music, both to sing and play the piano. It's been years, but I also used to play the clarinet in the marching band. I enjoy writing, and keep a family blog.

Why I am a Mormon

I was raised LDS by parents who were both converts to the church. However, there was a point in my life I pulled away trying to define myself in my own way. I found myself surrounded by friends but feeling lonely for the first time in my life. It wasn't until the peace that the gospel brought into my life was withdrawn that I realized how much stability, purpose and connection it gave me. I am not perfect and I have had to call upon the mercy of Jesus Christ and walk the humbling path of repentance. It was during those moments that I felt His overwhelming love and concern for me. He lifted my burden and removed my guilt. Living the commandments, life became much less difficult. Like a kite being held aloft by the restraint of the string, my life has soared higher because of the grounding and stabilizing effect of following God's commandments. I don't have to struggle with addiction, or personal drama, or knowing where the line is. Living the commandments does not make for a perfect life, because we will always have trials, but it will make the life we have much easier. The doctrine of the Book of Mormon, for me, takes all of the ambiguity out of Biblical Christianity. There is an amazing power that comes into my life through reading the scriptures. I especially love and admire my Jehovah's Witness friends for their dedication to scripture study. I know the scriptures are true, and with a second witness of the doctrine of Christ I don't have to be confused or argumentative about understanding doctrine the way God intended. My background in science and engineering has given me a foundation for understanding our world according to natural laws. I've found that science and true doctrine agree because all truth agrees with itself. Many of my atheist friends dismiss Christianity based on generic and faulty assumptions. There are no contradictions between true religion and science. God is the author of all truth.

How I live my faith

I have friends of all different denominations and try to be approachable and open about what I believe while respecting the faith of others. Five years ago I had a specific day of the week set aside to go to the park in between our lessons. I met a couple of Catholic moms who were there again and again on the same day. We found we had many things in common and got to be good friends. Their kids were too young to attend school at the time, but I'd talk to them about homeschooling my kids and how it allowed me to teach them by the light of the gospel. We connected through facebook and stayed in touch even after our park days ended. When their children came of age they started homeschooling too. Later, in an effort to help my own children understand and be respectful of the faith of others we attended a Mass with them. Afterwards, I said how nice it would be to have some time for the priest to explain some of the things from Mass in a home-school tour. When we arrived, I expected that only my family and my two friends would be there. There were about a dozen different Catholic homeschooling families that turned out for the tour. I hadn't realized that their example had spread to sisters, in-laws, and friends, many of whom started faith-based homeschooling too. I volunteer each week to teach the three-year old Primary class at church. They are very busy and often try to stack the chairs in class as high as possible or climb over the benches during the group lessons so lots of patience is required. I try to love them as the Savior might love them and teach them in ways that they will feel His love for them.