Week Wrap-Up

Chris wanted to get in on the action of celebrating John's swimming ribbon, so he took out the family for frozen yogurt on Thursday night. At the announcement, John ran upstairs, then emerged wearing his Mass clothes, tie, good shoes, and everything. I opened my mouth to scold him because I want him to keep his Mass clothes neat and reserved for church, but then I bit my tongue and asked with a nice tone of voice, "Why did you change, honey?" John answered seriously, "I just wanted to look my best." Well, it's hard to argue with that so I shut my mouth.

Now, it was Daddy who suggested he go get his ribbon . . . John pinned it on with his Eucharist pin and was looking sharp.

Our first week of homeschooling is over and I am grateful to God for such success. It was a real confidence-booster to me. I know from all my homeschooling friends and acquaintances that there will be days of frustration and tears--weeks and maybe months of them! Therefore, it was a real treat not to feel distress during my first week.

In fact, I organized my homemaking so well this week, anticipating that I'd be entirely overwhelmed by homeschooling, that we'd finish schooling very early in the day, we'd do our family chores, and we'd still have hours of free time, which is rare around here. I also got to enjoy the flexibility that homeschooling affords, such as deciding to do Mary's one-on-one schooling while John was at Mass with Daddy or at 6:30 a.m. in our pajamas because John was still sleeping. I've learned that John does his catechism and math best when the girls are in Quiet Time, but other than that I was able to juggle the three kids at once. John and Mary are learning about their new jobs to occupy Margaret while the other child is doing one-on-one schooling. Initially the child would play with Margaret for 30 seconds, then wander off, or would want to build his own special blocks and be upset that the baby knocked them over. I'm teaching that occupying the baby is their job for those 15 minutes, so that means building whatever she wants or reading to her whatever book she chooses, without wandering away. With reminders, they're starting to "get it."

While everyone else was having a great week, Margaret has been having one of those tough baby weeks. First of all, she's been waking at 4:30 a.m. for about a month. I can get her to stay in bed in restless slumber for about one additional hour, but I never get back to sleep after 4:30 and I have to take her downstairs by 5:30 or she'll wake everyone else. So, Mama is fatigued. Then a week ago, I noticed her overnight sleep got really rough. I suspected teething and was confirmed some days later when I saw all four canines poking through simultaneously! Poor girl! Finally, last night her sleep was atrocious and my mommy radar told me she'd be getting sick: indeed, she woke up with a cold and has been a grumpy girl all day. I anticipate an uncomfortable night ahead for us!

Bonus Reading: Escape from Babyland . . . which I think finds the delicate balance between celebrating being open to life but without sugarcoating the difficulties.