1. Birthday
I had a lovely time celebrating my birthday (click here) before everyone got sick. I happened to write most of this blog post before I was up to my elbows in it.
2. Outdoor Scenes
When playing after CCE, I do regular spot-checks of where my kids are, and, if Mary is missing, I can guess pretty quickly where she has gone. I spotted two of her friends standing beneath the big magnolia tree with their heads craning upward. I followed their gaze and, while she does not show up in this photo, I can inform you that Mary was up the tree, almost at the very top of where the photograph ends: yup, too high. She informed me that our pastor had the branches cut off ("limbed up") but that she can still climb up the trunk anyway.
Is it any wonder that our 2-1/2-year-old is already climbing some trees independently?
3. Sweet Sons
My five-year-old and I are often awake alone (with the baby) in the wee hours, so I've been trying to be more intentional about that time: playing games with Joseph or doing preschool with him over coffee.
"Be quiet, Mama will never find us under the bed!"
 |
| Note the illicit lollipop |
 |
| "I'm not tired, Mama." |
 |
| Thomas coloring while David eats his foot |
 |
| Thomas and his counting bears |
4. Getting Out
Last Saturday, a dear girlfriend of mine and I brought our hoped-for breakfast date to fruition after two months of trying to find a good time. I skeedaddled to the diner early in order to get fifteen whole minutes of quiet reading to myself before she arrived. The days of my reading for hours, or even fifteen minutes, are over (or, at least, temporarily suspended).
5. More Space for the Fish
The siblings all banded together to upgrade from a 5-gallon fish tank to a 10-gallon tank during a 50% off sale.
6. Bonus Reading
"How to homeschool and still get (most) things done" by Pam Barnhill--The key is being proactive. There will be bad and off days, but being proactive will help us stay on track.
"25 Ways to Rule Your Homeschool" from Rule the Roost
"Sometimes it’s easier to do school than not to do school" by Dawn Garrett--I feel like I could have written this post. I find that being consistent pays its benefits back exponentially. Being relaxed and irregular in our routine might be fun in the moment, but, for us, it leads to rebellion and unhappiness in future homeschooling.
Clearly I was in an organizing mood regarding our homeschool because I also drafted a new chore chart (click here).
7. Sickness
And that's as far as I'd drafted my SQT before we got sick. Now I'm drafting in my head a blog post on managing illness in a large family.
For more 7 Quick Takes Friday, check out This Ain't the Lyceum.
Reading about your family makes me smile each week - I especially love the pictures of siblings playing, reading, and working together! I'm just starting out (my two are about the same ages as your two littlest) and at the end of a long week "in the trenches" it's these sorts of posts that give me the little pick-me-up I needed! Sorry to hear you're not feeling well, hope it passes quickly!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the shout out! I hope you get to feeling better soon!
ReplyDeleteDear Kate Marie,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment. It warms my heart to hear that! I have been thinking since about my period of time with just my two oldest as toddler and baby. It was one of the hardest times of parenting for me due to having to die to self endlessly, but also has very special memories. I could devote time to those first two in a way I cannot to my current toddler and baby. One of the best pieces of advice I ever received, with 11 years' hindsight, when I had my firstborn was to sit and rock him as much as I wanted because I would never be able to do that in the same way with future children.
Blessings,
Katherine