Friday Mash Up: Microscopes, Busy Life

Last week was a bit crazy, but what week isn't in a family of 11? I typed this up Friday and just now am getting it posted.

I, Mom, am sick, several kids are coughing either as leftovers from colds or from asthma acting up (lots of asthma issues going on), and it has been gloriously cool and rainy. At the same time Mason and Mom spent 10 hours at medical appointments this week, Samuel had speech therapy, the insurance adjustor came Monday to see about storm damage (a leaking roof), the restoration company came to do their own inspection Tuesday (and will hopefully come back next week to do the repairs), there were kid activities Tuesday evening and Cub Scouts was cancelled Wednesday evening due to being rained out. Daddy is in college and working full time so he was either at work or doing school work. Oh, and our internet is only working about half the time so we've been dealing with the internet company for that because Makayla's veterinary medicine class and Daddy's college work are all online.

Homeschooling is our constant. It is the dose of routine in our day that keeps us happy and sane. We sing, we pray, we read, we talk, we learn as individuals and as a group. One thing I want to remember is the magic of a microscope. During Biology this week Makayla was taking a closer look at invertebrates and her microscope use inspired the younger kids.  They took turns exploring our prepared slides. I think the creepiest was the tiny spider. Close up you can see hairs on it's legs! Ick. The kids were fascinated though.

Reading happens as usual. We started our next Homeschool Book Club book - Rascal by Sterling North. History has everyone immersed in One Thousand and One Arabian Nights. Some kids finished reading books this week. Joseph finished reading the Book of Mormon for the first time on his own. Daniel finished The One and Only Ivan. Oliver read Green Eggs and Ham for the first time.

Makayla has been tucked away at the computer writing. I'm not sure which book she is working on right now because she discovered a draft for one from last year's NaNoWriMo, so she may be working on that one. Then she will come ask random questions like, "Where can someone get shot and still be able to function for a bit without dying?" or "Would an EMP (Electromagnetic pulse) take out our generator?" Generally, I just don't ask. She seems to take joy in making life difficult for her characters.

A Few More Notes for my Journal

•  Essential Oils Notes for the Season: We've been using several oils regularly to support our health this fall as we deal with colds and allergies. I like to keep stocked up on Thieves, RC, Breathe Again, and Raven. I just ordered a few we're running low on and decided to try SniffleEase, so that is on it's way too.
• Tobias took his first steps this week, he's 10 months old. He's also thrown his first temper tantrum - when he wasn't allowed to keep a book whose paper pages he was trying to eat. He was mad and let me know.
• The kids have been so excited for General Conference weekend. We have food planned including our traditional cinnamon rolls and a new recipe of chicken enchiladas, notebooks gathered, and lots of blankets for snuggling. And candy - you can't forget the candy.
• Samuel had a decent week at speech therapy, he knew what to expect and was able to participate more. The speech therapist was better at communicating with him too.
• Caleb surprised me this week and showed me he can sound out some short vowel words. I guess it's about time to pull out All About Reading level 1 for him.

This post is linked to Weekly Wrap Up.