Homeschool Notes Week 12

Monday was a bit more scattered than I prefer. I had a grocery pick up at 8am and bloodwork at 10:30am. In between those and after I helped kids with their new week of learning. I really prefer just being able to stay at home and do the school work uninterrupted. Daddy was home and so some of the kids just went to him for help when I was gone, while others waited for my return for things like a new math lesson.

In the afternoon Mason had physical therapy. I remembered to put dinner in the crock pot in the morning (shredded beef sandwiches) so it was pretty easy to come home from PT and finish up dinner prep. Right after dinner we spent some time outside just enjoying the chilly weather. Then it was inside to settle down before bed.

Tuesday we woke up to a gloriously chilly morning that was almost cold enough for snow. Hot chocolate, pumpkin bread, and banana bread were a popular breakfast. Unfortunately a couple of my kids are getting a cough/cold. In a large family that also deals with a lot of allergies it's a rare month when we don't have someone sick or at least miserable from allergies. Right now Makayla is still dealing with allergies but they are morphing into something respiratory. It seems Caleb and Tobias at least are getting sick with a cough. We've got essential oils helping to manage symptoms while we see where this goes. So far no fevers and no loss of appetite.

We still managed school work. Several of the kids did an art project using some of the painted paper we made two weeks ago resulting in new art for our art line. We also had piano lessons in the afternoon. Then we surprised the kids with dinner in the backyard with the fire pit. It was really simple - just hot dogs, tortilla chips, and smores. For about 3.2 seconds I considered adding a fruit and vegetable. Then I decided the kids would be just as happy to skip them.

Wednesday I sat down to pay bills (oh the fun of adulting) and Oliver sat beside me and plowed right through his school work. Other kids were busy in various parts of the house doing school work or playing. It was a predictable, quiet day. I even got a nap!

Dinner was homemade pizza. Now before you think this was a lot of work, remember I'm pregnant. We used garlic toast and English muffins as the crusts and everyone got to add sauce, cheese, pepperoni, etc. Easy.

Thursday was a nice uncomplicated day. School work happened all morning. I'm getting excited because I can see our next break week on the horizon. We just have one more week of school to go. In the afternoon my sister and her four kids came over. While kids visited and played we talked budgets and figuring it all out when you've just moved internationally, changed jobs, and are still waiting to get important information like just what the paycheck and bills will look like now. Yeah, I don't envy her right now. Talk about complicated!

During dinner prep I decided to work ahead. While I was browning up a couple pounds of ground beef and black beans for tacos (tonight's dinner) I mixed up another couple pounds of ground beef with some ground sausage and other ingredients and filled a pan with a meatloaf. That got foil on top and was tossed in the second refrigerator. It will be dinner tomorrow night. Two dinners (plus leftovers!) with just one time touching raw meat and getting a messy kitchen. Yay! The taco meat leftovers tonight can go in quesadillas tomorrow for lunch. The meatloaf leftovers will be lunch for the next day.

Friday the local schools were out so Makayla didn't have seminary. Sleeping in was the order of the morning - except most of my kids don't know how to sleep in, so I was still up at 6am. Oh well. We did do school work to finish off the week strong. Then Joseph cooked a bunch of different things for his campout tonight. By afternoon it was time to pick up two teen cousins and drop off my two teens and cousins for a youth activity at a pumpkin patch with a huge fun zone. Then it was back home for me to do afternoon medical care for Mason. My sister (mom of the cousins) was on pick up duty for the teens. I tossed the meatloaf in the oven to cook, fed most of the family dinner, then it was time to take Joseph and one cousin to their Boy Scout campout.

Saturday was filled with a library book sale, cleaning the house, cooking, meal planning, picking up the scout campers, grocery shopping, and realizing that Tobias, who has been coughing for a couple days, was not going to be well enough to go to church on Sunday. Saturday had a lot of other things in it like a trip to the bank, games, school for daddy, rearranging one bedroom, and laundry. It was just a full day.

That brings me to this morning. It is Sunday and most of my crew is off to church. I'm going to go snuggle Tobias for a bit and take it easy.