A Quiet Simple Life with Sallie Borrink

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11 Lists of 11 Things from 11 Years of Motherhood 2

11 Lists of 11 Things from 11 Years of Motherhood

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This was originally supposed to be 10 Lists of 10 Things from 10 Years of Parenting. And then life. So now it is eleven lists of eleven things. Here is motherhood for me summed up as I reflect back.

11 Bloggers Who Shaped My Parenting

These are the women who shaped my parenting starting before I was even pregnant. Some of them gave me a vision for homeschooling and parenting before I had Caroline (Lanier and Anna). Some of them changed the way I thought about the parent-child relationship. (Karen, Brenda, Karen, and Sally). One of them turned on the proverbial light to start understanding my 2e child (Pamela) and others helped me figure out what it mean to parent a gifted/2e child (Colleen and all of the GHF bloggers). One with an only child creative daughter also gave me the opportunity to take my blogging to the next level (Jimmie). Caroline has no idea how much she owes these women for the life she has because they have made me such a better mother in so many ways.

11 Best Parenting Decisions We Made

Sometimes you don’t realize how important a decision will be in your life until you look back on it. These are the best decisions we made even though at the time we had no idea how much they would impact our parenting and parenting philosophy.

11 Baby and Toddler Products We Loved

We didn’t buy everything but we weren’t minimalists either. These were the things we are very thankful we had. The exact ones we had have changed over time, but these are the items most simliar that are available now.

11 Ways We Ignored the Opinions of Others

I pretty much do my own thing. I research, I read, I listen, and then I make my decision. It’s probably great for my child and great for writing posts that bring traffic to my site (like this one), but less great for fitting in to the village.

11 Favorite Toys

It is hard to narrow it down to specific toys so I’m including categories of toys that Caroline has enjoyed.

11 Favorite Clothing Items

I adored dressing Caroline when she was little. She always looked darling. LOL! Around age four it became apparent that comfort was going to be the overriding value in her clothing choices. I honestly do not know how we would have survived without Lands End, especially their leggings. Caroline has lived in them the past several years.

11 12 13 Favorite Books

It is absolutely impossible to pick just 11 favorite books. We have probably a hundred favorite books and it might even be tough narrowing it down to one hundred over the past eleven years. Here is a cross section of favorites from different ages.

11 Circumstances I Thought Would Break Me

Yes, I really have felt like motherhood might break me at times. It has been much more difficult than I expected for a variety of reasons.

  • Lack of a village
  • Feeding a child who had to be rocked back to sleep two to three times a night for months on end
  • Homeschooling early elementary
  • The Binky
  • Attending church (actually, not attending is more accurate)
  • Caroline learning to write
  • Homeschooling middle elementary
  • Not understanding what my child needed
  • Homeschooling later elementary
  • The financial pressures of having a gifted/2e child
  • Homeschooling a 2e child and needing to learn almost everything on my own to help her

11 Things I Wish I Could Do Over

We all have parenting regrets. Here are a few do overs I would love to have.

11 Best Moments

There have been so many great moments. These are some special ones that come to mind.

11 Posts That Best Explain My Motherhood Experience

I tend to write about the challenges and not the euphoric experiences. But these do sum things up pretty well.

And the bonus list…

11 Best Things about My Daughter

Caroline is a special daughter. Especially over the past year, she has blossomed and really come into her own in ways that are wonderful to behold. There are so many things I could put on this list, but here are eleven of them.

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Sallie Borrink

Sallie Schaaf Borrink is a wife, mom, homeschooler, published author, and podcaster with a passion for reading and synthesizing information in order to help others make wise choices. She graduated summa cum laude from the Honors College of Michigan State University and was an elementary teacher pursuing an M.A. when she realized she would rather write and putter around her home. Sallie now happily stays home as much as possible while enjoying her second floor corner office that looks out on the beauty of creation. She is pursuing a quiet simple life in Christ while encouraging other women to do the same.
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  1. Cristy S.

    Hi Sallie, great lists!

    I thought I couldn’t cry from happiness more than the first ride with K-girl on the carousel at the state fair…

    Reply

    • Sallie

      Hi Cristy,

      Isn’t it amazing the things that deeply touch us? Things we never would have thought about until we knew our child and realized the import of events that seem so ordinary to others?

      Sallie

      Reply

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