oxen and their messes

"Where no oxen are present, the manger is clean, but much revenue comes by the strength of the ox" (Proverbs 14:4).

This is C . He is six and messy. In fact, kids are messy. One of my biggest surprise when we began Homeschooling was the mess! I gained my children, but I lost the eight hours a day of housekeeping I could do when they weren't in the house.

So they don't leave AND they keep making messes the entire time they are home.

It was a good trade. But still.

M3, my nearly 9-year-old, made 4 pieces of toast for her brother for breakfast (yes, four) complete with cinnamon and sugar and peanut butter.

Which he eats enthusiastically while doing his math.

While doing his math.

Which means a boy dotted with the cinnamon/sugar mixture AND books, pencils, and math blocks sticky with peanut butter AND little scraps of crust cluttering the table, the chair, the floor.

Oh, well. Where there are no oxen....

(At least he ate all the toast and finished the math, so this oxen, Lord willing, will grow to be big and strong and be able to do his sums.)