January Homeschool Plans Until Baby Arrives

I made some relaxed plans for school to keep us in a bit of a routine until baby Rebekah arrives. We could probably take off most of January and February and still finish the school year on time since we started early but the lack of routine would be bad.

Core Subjects - All kids will continue math and either assigned reading or reading lessons. The 7th grade and under crowd is continuing history with the Liberty's Kids dvds. The 11th grader is continuing chemistry and writing.

Morning Basket - This will happen each day and has the following categories:

• Hymn - This varies. We're starting with I'm Trying to Be like Jesus and Let Us Oft Speak Kind Words, but I'm also open to kid requests.
• Prayer - We take turns praying as a family, a different person prays each morning.
• Devotional - We're going to use 52 Weeks to Fortify Your Family (Amazon affiliate link). It's a simple book that has a theme for each week. The first week is Kindness. Each day of the week is a verse or set of verses to read aloud and discuss on the theme. The end of the week has a couple of questions to talk about and a general conference talk to take our learning further. The best part is the daily readings will be 5 minutes or less, just right for our morning basket.
• Fine Arts - We will rotate through different things in this slot. For the first week I have: Picture study, Composer Study: Mozart, Doodle Prompt, Picture study, and Composer Study: Mozart.
• Scripture Memory - We're starting with Romans 8:16 and will change our scripture verse every few weeks. We simply read it aloud together until we have it memorized.
• Read Aloud - I decided to pull one of the history books on Makayla's shelf for this year to read aloud to everyone. It's set in the 1930s and tells the story of a Mexican family who becomes migrant workers in the US due to unexpected circumstances. It's called Esperanza Rising (Amazon affiliate link) and I love what I've read ahead so far!
• Other - This will vary every week. This week the slots are filled with Mad Libs (Star Wars themed), Mathemagic, science exploration, Mad Libs (Mad Scientist themed), and a writing game.

That's it! The kids are always welcome to pursue their own learning interests, ask for resources to help with that, or pull out a game to play. They have a variety of interests and there is often something going on. 

Homeschool Notes Week 22 - Christmas Break Continued

Saturday morning Makayla woke up with pink eye and we made a trip to the urgent care for eye drops. I'm hoping it doesn't spread between children. She called work and they told her to stay home, which was wonderful. We all needed a quiet day home as a family. Or mostly at home, as we had to pick up our online grocery order of course, and it was our family's turn to clean the church today. We got those things done and by the end of the cleaning I was having consistent contractions every few minutes. It's not time for this baby to arrive yet so we went home where I laid down, drank water to rehydrate, and then waited for contractions to settle down, which they did. Then I got up and packed my hospital bag a few days earlier than I had planned, just in case. I need to put a short list in the bag to remind me of things I need to grab last minute like a cell phone charger and phone.

Sunday found me with 4 hours of contractions, part of which was during our church service. It made for some really interesting reflections on the birth of Christ as I thought of Mary and Joseph welcoming Jesus. We had some extended family over for dinner, Christmas games, and gifts. It was a lot of fun and noise.

Monday was Christmas. We made cinnamon rolls and put them in to rise, then let the kids come downstairs to begin our morning and open gifts. This was our second year to open one gift at a time (before that we generally passed out a gift to each person and then everyone could open that gift at the same time). It went really well and Tobias did great waiting his turn and watching what each person opened.

The rest of the morning was spent building Lego sets, a giant train station, and just relaxing and playing together. Lunch was leftovers from Christmas Eve dinner - tacos - and Christmas breakfast - cinnamon rolls. In the late afternoon we watched episode 2 of Extinct (on BYU tv through our Roku) with the kids. It's fun to discover this show together. Most of the kids are interested, other than the littles who just played in the same room while we watched the show.

Tuesday we expected Daddy to be working (truck driver) but after showing up at the shop at 4am he was sent home, they were giving almost all the drivers today off too and he was one. So not too long before 5am he was back home and we made plans for a to-do list for the day. It had random things like taking a watch to the store to get links removed, picking up oil (we used the last of ours in waffles this morning), removing the a/c unit from our bedroom window (since the temps this week are staying below freezing even for the highs), grinding wheat, dropping the girls off at the movies, and doing a bit of organizing.

The day was uneventful and productive. Of course, it ended on a less than great note when Daniel started throwing up. The question being, is it just too much junk food in the last two days or is he sick and going to share? He did make it through the night without throwing up more, which was good.

Wednesday we kept to the calm and quiet routine. The plan for the day was to just rest, relax, and enjoy break. That is exactly what we did. There was no more throwing up. The oldest 3 kids had youth group together at church.

Thursday started with a checkup at my obstetrician's office. I shared that update in a separate post on the blog already, so here I'll just say things look good and baby Rebekah finally turned head down! After my appointment the kids relaxed and I did some January school planning.

Let's be clear - we started this school year on July 31st because I know what pregnancy and having a baby during the school year is like - all my babies but one have been born during a school year. My plan for January until baby is born is a relaxed form of school. We'll keep a core of lessons like math and then pick up a morning basket of riches to keep our weeks enjoyable. I'm also going to dive into a read aloud. We've taken a bit of a break on read alouds (other than listening to audio books in smaller groups or as individuals) and I miss it.

Friday morning some kids were up early while others slept in. We cooked breakfast and watched cartoons for a while. Then I got to work finalizing January morning basket plans, printing things, choosing a read aloud book, and so on.

We also got a phone call that Mason's new wheelchair should be ready in about 3 weeks. This is nothing short of miraculous. The process to order a new wheelchair when a child needs a bigger size is often 6-10 months long with insurance, and only after they have had their current chair for 5 years. Mason's paperwork got sent to insurance in early November and he's had his current chair almost 4.5 years but has completely outgrown it. The approval letter from insurance arrived last week and was dated Dec. 19th, just over a month after it was submitted. The vendor who will build his chair called us today to confirm what color he wants and let us know that it should be reading in 3ish weeks. If that is accurate the process will have taken just under 3 months.

We're ready for a family weekend enjoying the ending of 2017 and the start of 2018. Now to plan some games and snacks!

Pregnancy Update #14 - Contractions and Braxton Hicks

Well, that was unexpected. Up to now I've had mild contractions when I've done things like walking all over the grocery store. Not uncomfortable, just noticeable. On Saturday things changed. In came my first day with countable, timeable contractions. Uncomfortable ones. I drank water and laid down for a while and after 1 1/2 hours they spaced out and disappeared, because we don't want to deliver until I'm full term (minimum 37 or 38 weeks, and on this day I was only 35 weeks 3 days).

Sunday morning I woke to consistent, uncomfortable, timeable contractions every 4 minutes lasting a minute long. It went on for four hours! I'm doing my best to stay hydrated and keep an eye on things. I'm still early for labor and my doctor would want to stop labor (I'm 35 weeks 3 days on this particular Sunday). Rebekah is also still breech. We'll see what happens as the week moves forward. I'm really hopeful that my body will do this practice labor pretty regularly for the next few weeks and that when I'm finally closer to delivery day I'll have already done a lot of dilating.

Monday contractions didn't start until lunch time, then happened on and off the rest of the day. Nothing major, definitely just Braxton hicks. Practice! Tuesday was similar, more contractions as the day went on, but very much just practice, nothing to worry about. Wednesday followed the same pattern.

I am feeling better overall energy-wise now that my iron infusions are done and being used by my body. That is really nice.

Thursday (today!) I am officially 36 weeks pregnant. I had my weekly check up at my doctor's office. It was time for my Group B Strep test, results come in a couple days. I'm measuring where I should. I gained no weight this week which is surprising over Christmas, but fine with me. My blood pressure is up for me but still in the normal range (130 over 82 instead of my usual 110 over 62). I'm dilated 1 cm and expect to sit there for the next 3 or 4 weeks.  

I signed the paperwork for a VBAC delivery plan stating I'm aware of the potential risks, so that is in my file. This is my 3rd VBAC and so this is all routine for me and my doctor. He's on vacation next week, so I will see one of the midwives after my ultrasound.

The best news of the day was that baby Rebekah has turned head down! I suspected things were different when I woke up this morning and it's always nice to have it confirmed. I'm praying she stays that way right up to delivery. 

Homeschool Notes Week 21 - Christmas Break Begins

Saturday morning Emma and I went to WalMart first thing to pick up our online grocery order. I have to say, this is so easy! 10 minutes from the time we parked to the time we were done and ready to go home. We don't always use this because I can technically spend less money by going to Aldi, however I've reached the part of pregnancy where it's becoming difficult to walk around a store and grocery shop for an hour or more. I end up with contractions and pains in various places. Right now spending a bit more on groceries is worth it.

Other things that happened today:

• Makayla worked. Of course! Retail means she's working pretty much every Friday and Saturday right now.
• Kids did their weekly 30 minute turn with the video game system we bring up from storage and plug in on Saturdays. 
• The tub and shower got a deep cleaning.
• Bills were paid. 
• I checked the rest of our homeschool progress for first semester. We're done! 3 week Christmas and New Year's break starts now!
• Daddy and mommy worked on wrapping Christmas presents. 
• I started looking for a new printer. Ours has died, which means it needs replaced before we start school back up in January. 

Sunday we got to go to church as a family. Mason was feeling good so we decided to just make it work with the cast and the big wheelchair. I'm so glad we were all able to go together! After church (and choir practice for Makayla) the kids took turns wrapping the gift exchange gift they each chose for a sibling or cousin. (My kids and my sister's kids do a gift exchange so on Christmas Eve when we all get together the kids get to give a gift to someone special.)

After dinner we surprised the kids with a gift. This year we were able to buy a series of 8 'family gifts' and we will open one each day between now and Christmas. They are all games of some sort, for varying ages. Today's game was Uno Moo. Almost everyone teamed up to play (one person chose to just watch) and it was a fun introduction to Uno for younger kids.

Monday we decided to open the family gift right after breakfast before Makayla needed to go to work. This one was Harry Potter Clue. Oh my, this one is fun! It follows a traditional Clue game in some ways (figuring out who, with what, and where related to the crime) but has some special things going on. First, you have house points and can lose them with dark mark cards, unless you have a special help card that protects you from the specific events on the dark mark card. Second, there are four turning portions of the board that change things in the castle: opening and closing doors into rooms, opening secret passages, etc. The game is always changing! This game is definitely aimed at older kids because it takes time, you need to be able to read (Oliver was able to play on his own, Caleb and younger needed a buddy), and you need to understand how to track the clues on the cards as you eliminate possible suspects, items, and rooms. Samuel and Tobias chose not to play, they pulled out Uno Moo from yesterday instead. Mason made it through one game with a buddy, Caleb made it most of the way through two games before abandoning his buddy.

After that is was off to work for Makayla and chores and play for everyone else. I did some organizing in a set of drawers that needed gone through. We had lunch. Tobias napped. I did Mason medical care. Daddy baked peppermint chocolate chip cookies. After Tobias woke up Emma grabbed some younger siblings to play Uno Moo while Daddy and some more of the kids pulled out Harry Potter Clue to play again. I waited for the nurse to show up to do my iron infusion. As soon as that was finished I made Chicken Alfredo for dinner.

Tuesday everyone got up, fed, and dressed as we usually do. Then my nurse arrived at 9:30am for my next iron infusion. Really, that takes up about an hour and a half of my day. By the time she left I needed to get going on cooking lunch. Makayla was already at the veterinarian office shadowing thanks to an aunt who could drive her while I was still hooked up to an IV. We did our afternoon routine. The kids opened a new game: Knot So Fast. This one will be a challenge for everyone!

Daddy was home by midafternoon. Then we had dinner and family time and decided to try making cake batter in our waffle irons. It wasn't too bad, but doesn't get crunchy like a waffle. The sugar content is too high to cook it long enough for that without burning.

Wednesday was the first day of break from seminary. That meant I got to sleep in until 7:00am and it was wonderful! We had a slow start to our morning and opened today's family gift. This one was a hit with a lot of the kids: Dr. Eureka Speed Logic Game.

Today was IV iron infusion #4. It happened at lunch time. The kids are more fascinated by the IV process each day. Me, not so much.

Thursday started off with an hour drive to my obstetrician's office for a check up. I now go for a check up every week until this baby arrives. I posted on the blog about today's visit. Once I got home from that the kids were ready to open today's family gift. It was a simple game called Let's Go Fishin'. Noisy, hilarious, and fun. Tobias shrieks every time he manages to snag a fish with his pole.

Lunch was easy because I had tossed it in the crock pot before heading to my doctor earlier in the morning. I put a couple cans of green beans in the crock pot and laid out a sliced ham on top. It was delicious with leftover rolls from dinner last night (polish sausage and bean soup).

I've started thinking about January, new years goals, and what our homeschool plan will be until Rebekah is born. I have papers and notes around my computer with ideas and I'm praying over it all to see what rises to the top and what falls off the lists.

Friday is here! I woke up to contractions this morning (totally normal for a great grand multipara - someone pregnant with their 10th or greater baby). They settled down after a half hour or so while I was making breakfast. We don't have any big plans for today beyond opening our next family gift and playing games all day. I'll also put in my online grocery order for WalMart this morning so I can pick it up tomorrow.

Happy Friday everyone!

Pregnancy Update #13 - Weekly Check Ups Begin

Today I'm 35 weeks pregnant. I will have my last iron infusion by IV this afternoon. I'm feeling pretty good compared to how I was, less exhausted.

I had a check up this morning with my obstetrician. I'm waiting to hear a couple results but things looked good during the visit. My blood pressure is holding steady at a bit higher than my normal but well within the normal range (mine tends to be low). I'm not sure how my protein level in the urine sample was yet. I'm weighing 222.8lbs, so almost 23 lbs gained this pregnancy. While this is equal to my highest weight ever during pregnancy (222 lbs) it is a lot less weight than I usually gain. Usually I gain 50-55 lbs. It will be interesting to see what my body does after delivery in the weight department.

Rebekah is still breech so we decided to add an appointment next week for my Group B Strep test instead of waiting another week. Why? Because at my 37 week appointment we'll do an ultrasound to see if Rebekah has turned head down. If she hasn't we will go to the hospital and attempt an external version to turn her. They want to know Group B Strep results before that just in case I end up in labor.

We also discussed the possibility that after a version baby could turn head up again before delivery. If so, we could do another external version but it would be followed by an induction at the same time. Or we could do a C-section. There are risks to all options of course, so we're praying to avoid it all and just have this sweet girl flip on her own.

I can't believe it is almost time to meet Rebekah Joy!

Homeschool Notes Week 20

Monday I really debated if we would even call this a homeschool week. I started the day with an hour drive to bloodwork for my pregnancy, and hour back to our hospital for endocrinology bloodwork, and so on. Then early in the afternoon I realized we would be making a trip to the surgeon's office for Mason (an hour away) because his cast was rubbing raw the back of his thigh. Mason and I went, got his cast trimmed down and padded, and made it home 2 1/2 hours after we left.

I decided to look at each child's work and see where they are in each subject. Everyone is pretty far along in most subjects, so we're in good shape. I decided to set some minimal school work just to keep a routine going this week.

Tuesday the kids started up the homeschool week. We decided we've read enough in history for the 7th grade and under crowd for our first semester and even part of our second. So the kids agreed to changing things up a little. We are going to spend the time between now and baby Rebekah being born watching the entire Liberty's Kids series. This cartoon walks you through the events of the American Revolution with 40 episodes. The first one is called "The Boston Tea Party" and when I turned it on lots of kids were commenting that they recognized that topic.

Other school things we plan to continue for now are math (review, not new lessons), chemistry, and literature.

Life is about to get even busier because my doctor called with more blood panel results and does want me to get IV infusions of iron. I need 5 infusions over a 2 week period of time and it starts tomorrow. The biggest blessing is that my insurance company is sending them to our home to do the infusions!

Something I don't want to forget: Oliver decided he's ready for chapter books today and grabbed a Magic Tree House book off our shelves that we've never read. He's reading it and telling me about it and enjoying himself. Yay!

Wednesday the kids got school work going right after breakfast. I baked 48 muffins for lunch at 9am so things were ready for me to be sitting on the couch having my iron infusion during that time. The infusion went well.

Thursday was a nice at home day with snow outside and warm blankets inside. Mason is doing pretty well post-surgery. He had some swelling in his foot so today we are going back to elevating his foot off and on throughout the day.

We spent the morning working on school together. Math review for everyone was crazy because they all decided to math at the exact same time so I was fielding questions from all corners. I finally told a few kids to do something else and that I would work with them after I finished helping one or two others.

Friday is here. It is still cold outside. School work took up part of our morning. As I type this I hear Mason teaching Samuel to count to 100. Makayla is at work. I just finished placing our WalMart grocery pick up order. It's one way I'm taking care of my family while guarding my own energy. A couple minutes on the computer and tomorrow we just park outside our local WalMart and they bring out our groceries to the van. They even load it all for me.

It's time for a slow weekend.

Pregnancy Update #12 - Anemia and Iron Infusions

Picture of me taken today at 34 weeks 1 day pregnant.

I left off with week 33 in my last update. Blood work came back Tuesday and my iron is very low, so I will be having IV infusions of iron. My doctor expects me to have 5 infusions over a 2 week period. I got a call that we would begin these right away. A huge blessing - my insurance company is sending a nurse to do the infusions in my home! I don't have to travel an hour each way or find childcare.

My first infusion happened the next day - Wednesday.  It was interesting getting an IV done at home, surrounded by my curious children. The infusion of iron went just fine. I didn't have an allergic reaction (they send an epi-pen along in the large box of supplies and medication).

One down, four to go.

Pregnancy Update #11: Weeks 28-33

Week 28 is where I left off in my last pregnancy update post. I was given an iron prescription for my low iron and started taking it faithfully, with vitamin C, and not having dairy (calcium) within several hours of the iron.
Rebecca is a pretty active baby. She likes to be right under my ribs or turn sideways. It gets uncomfortable sometimes, but I'm trying to embrace every moment.

Week 29 I got a bad headache on Sunday, which is unusual for me. I did check my blood pressure (normal) and decided to just monitor things. As the week went on everything was normal.

Week 30 I had another pregnancy check up. Everything looks perfectly fine, we're cruising through third trimester. I scheduled the rest of my prenatal appointments for the pregnancy - unless baby decides to be especially late. I'll go in every 2 weeks for check ups through December and when January arrives we move to weekly check ups.

Week 31 was pretty uneventful. I'm just trying too enjoy each day of pregnancy. I am starting to have contractions every time I am out walking at the store or anywhere else for more than about 20 minutes. They settle down pretty easily when I lay or sit down for a while.

Week 32 I'm feeling gigantic. Just really big pregnant. Turning over in bed is awkward and uncomfortable. I'm starting to gather things for the end of my pregnancy:

1. Dates - I eat 6 dates per day late in the 3rd trimester. There have been studies done that show eating dates for the last 4 weeks of pregnancy have a significant impact on increased dilation and going into labor on your own, as well as a shorter first phase of labor. 
2. Red Raspberry Leaf Herbal Tea - This one is new for me. I'm drinking it beginning midway through the 3rd trimester. Drinking this during 3rd trimester can help strengthen the uterus (great for a VBAC mom especially!), improve the effectiveness of contractions, and reduce the rate of complications and interventions compared to women who did not drink this tea. 
3. Postpartum wrap/support - As is normal for a woman who has had multiple babies I have diastasis recti, a separation of the abdominal muscles down the middle (vertically) of my abdomen. This places a number of movement and exercise restrictions on me (some things can make the split worse), makes me prone to back issues, and just isn't fun. Before this pregnancy I had worked to reduce my DR split from 4+ fingers wide to 2 fingers wide. However I'm pretty sure this pregnancy has undone all that work, and quite possibly has made things even worse. I have been looking into ways to help support my abdominal muscles and back after this sweet baby is born and then work to reduce the split again after the first 6 weeks postpartum. I've looked at a lot of different support belts/waist trainers/girdles/wraps and have narrowed down my options. Now to make a final decision and purchase. 

Week 33 - I'm 33 weeks and 3 days pregnant as I type this. I had a checkup on Thursday. Baby is currently breech (head up) but she flips around pretty often so we'll see what position she settles into as we get closer to delivery. I have officially gained 19 lbs for this pregnancy.

Several things came up in tests that we're now trying to figure out. First, I had high leukocytes and protein in my urine. That can indicate a UTI (urinary tract infection) or possibly preeclampsia. I'm to keep monitoring my blood pressure and symptoms to watch for preeclampsia. 

They also took blood to check how my body was responding to the iron pills I've been taking. I got a call the next day with bad news. My iron is still low - and not any better. Worse, actually. So tomorrow I head back to the doctor for more bloodwork to see what is going on. We will also be talking about whether we should continue iron pills or if I need to do iron infusions by IV. I'm guessing my doctor will want me to do the infusions because I'm so far into my pregnancy and the infusions are more effective quickly. I'm at higher risk for several things due to my age, pregnancy history (prior csection, 14 pregnancies, etc), and so on, and having really low iron is a bad thing for several of those risks. We'll see how things go!

Homeschool Notes Week 19

Monday was a mix of things that needed done woven in around school work. Things like phone calls, a trip to Social Security, a haircut, work for the teen, and so on. Also lots of hospital stay prep for Mason's surgery on Friday. Then we found out that Mason's new glasses were finally ready and so he and I made an unexpected 2 1/2 hour trip in and out of the city to pick them up. It was the only day before surgery we could do it, so I'm glad they came in.

Tuesday we kept up school, Makayla worked at the vet, and we had a usual day. I'm still planning and gathering and getting things ready for surgery. At the same time we are trying to keep some quiet time in each day to just relax as a family.

Wednesday dawned cold and sunny. School work happened around the table and on the couch and in bedrooms. Little ones played with puzzles and moved ornaments around on the Christmas tree (we put ours up last Sunday). Daniel's replacement pair of glasses was picked up. Makayla and Daddy each headed to work. There was Cub Scouts and our usual Wednesday night activities at church.

Thursday I had a prenatal appointment, which I'll talk about in an upcoming pregnancy update. Daddy oversaw homeschooling while I was gone. Then it was time to officially pack for Mason's surgery the next day.

Friday Mason and I headed early to the hospital. He had a knee contracture that the doctor did a hamstring release on. Basically a 'Z' shaped incision behind the knee from thigh to calf so various things in both areas could be cut down to the bone of the joint. Ow. Then he was put in a cast going from the top of his thigh to his toes. He did well with surgery and had a 1 night stay at the hospital.

Saturday we had it confirmed that Mason really was in zero pain from the surgery (all painkillers from surgery were long out of his system). It's a tiny benefit of the paralysis and nerve damage that comes with Spina Bifida. It's also a big drawback because he doesn't feel like he just had major surgery and needs to recover for a month. We got to come home in the afternoon with instructions to continue elevating and icing off and on through Sunday.

Right now it is Sunday afternoon. Mason is still doing well. Daddy and most of the children went to church. We're having a birthday party this evening for Emma with extended family because she turns 12 this coming week. The coming week has some uncertainties medically for me (again, I'll update in a pregnancy post soon) but other than that is pretty relaxed.

Homeschool Week 17 and Week 18 Notes

Week 17 - I popped in on the blog last week to mention that we were taking off the entire week of Thanksgiving. It was great! We had many things that needed done, a full work schedule for the teen, Thanksgiving with extended family, a trip to see Christmas lights, and kids beginning to come down with a cold.

Week 18

Monday started us off with a solid day of learning. Math lessons happened for everyone. The high schooler also had Latin with mom and did history, literature, and chemistry on her own. The middle schoolers had math, science, and grammar with mom and did history and literature on their own. The elementary schoolers did math, grammar, beginning reading, and science with mom and did writing, history, or literature on their own (different kids had different things scheduled here). Oliver and Caleb also started a math facts practice to really make sure those addition and subtraction facts are solid. I was just going to do this with Caleb, who is ready to move up to Math U See Beta, where you dive into multiple digit multiplication and subtraction up to very large numbers. Oliver is already ahead of that level into Gamma, which is multiplication. However it never hurts to review facts and Oliver and Caleb like the idea of working together on this, so I ended up with both boys.

Other things that happened today: Makayla got a bank account complete with debit card, and plans to set up direct deposit for her work checks this week. Daddy had physical therapy. We played Righteous: A Book of Mormon dvd game as a family in Family Home Evening. My husband's work schedule got changed to a weird 2nd shift-ish thing, which made me want to cry. I'm blaming it on pregnancy hormones. He'll leave at 11:30am and get home sometime after 9:30pm each day. Ugh. It complicates things like me being Cubmaster (and having 5 little children ages 7 and under who need watched while I'm doing scouts every week), medical appointments (when we're gone for 4+ hours those are a big deal leaving 8 kids behind), and even childcare for Mason's upcoming surgery.

Tuesday was a lot of trying to get things done before daddy headed to work. There were phone calls to make, a trip to the store and to mail a package, homeschooling, school work for daddy, dropping Makayla off at the vet for shadowing, and so on. After Daddy was off and gone for the day we had lunch, did Mason medical care, and then it was time for piano lessons. We have a sweet friend from church who comes each week to teach piano to the kids. Then it was simply survival while we all missed Daddy and tried to make it to bedtime with sanity intact.

Wednesday was life school. Meaning the kids could study anything they wanted while momma and Mason were gone for a morning appointment in the city before Daddy needed to go to work. When I got home I did some research on a vehicle we would like to one day move to (Ford Transit 12 Passenger Wagon). I was trying to figure out the cargo space and if it would hold a larger wheelchair as Mason grows. (Yep!) Now if only it wasn't $50,000+.

Wednesday afternoon the kids helped me gather supplies for tonight's Cub Scout Pack Meeting. It's a service project night and we're making fleece blankets for Project Linus. *Updated to add that we finished 5 blankets in one hour tonight! We had more fleece donated than we could finish so the rest will be a project for another day.

Thursday was back to the usual morning of school work after breakfast. I worked with most of the kids but a few went to Daddy too. He got to listen to beginning readers, which is always a fun exercise in patience. Joseph and Emma had quick appointments at the orthodontist today. Joseph will be getting his expander off and braces on in February and Emma is almost ready for the expander, probably at the beginning of summer. Our morning kept rolling along with a porch shoe cleanup, crafting, reading, piano practice, and fun.

Friday started off with Mommy not feeling good (lightheaded, headache). I checked my blood pressure and it was pretty high, but went down after sitting for a bit. I'm going to monitor it. closely for a couple days to see what is going on. Daddy and I did two quick projects. We pulled the 3T clothing bin out of the attic and found Tobias new long sleeve shirts because he has outgrown his 2T shirts all of a sudden.

The second project was changing out the toys in the living room cubicle. The little boys love when we do this, things seem all new again. This time we have out wooden food (one small bin), tools (half a bin), and Imaginext (two small bins). We try to be sure we have out few enough toys that the little boys can pick them up easily within 5 minutes or so.

After toys had been changed I sat at the table to be available for anyone needing help with school work. I quickly had several children around me with math work 'just in case we need you Mom'. Everyone worked steadily and finished by lunch time.

I made a phone call to one eye doctor to order replacement glasses for Daniel, whos frames haven't held up. Then I was called by surgery pre-op for Mason and answered a hundred questions for anesthesia. Currently Mason is on the schedule for surgery at 9am next Friday. We'll find out the evening before if his time gets shifted around at all.

It's mid-afternoon now. Makayla is off to work. Kids are watching a show on Amazon Prime (Dino Dan) or reading joke books to each other. I am going to get dinner cooking and read for a little while before the chaos of evening crankiness descends.