Saturday was cold. We woke to several inches of snow, which was beautiful. I headed to WalMart for our online grocery pick up at 8:30am. Once home we did a few quick projects and made lunch. After lunch Daddy got picked up by Grandma and Grandpa for a Trans Siberian Orchestra concert along with one nephew thanks to free tickets Grandma got. They said it was fantastic when they arrived home 7 hours later. I'm glad he got to go (and that I didn't have to, it's not my kind of music, lol).
While Daddy was gone our Saturday moved forward as usual. Medical care in the afternoon for Mason, a nap for Tobias, and just play. Dinner was beef stew in the crock pot with some rolls. I dropped Makayla off at a friend's house to ride to the Church holiday ball for youth an hour away. Then it was just mommy and the younger 8 children until bedtime. We watched some tv, played with Legos, and stayed inside where it was warm.
Sunday was even colder but everyone was well enough to go to church so it was a great morning. After church we pulled together a Harry Potter themed Would You Rather game for our family New Year's Eve party and prepared snacks to share. We had a fun evening of snacks and games together!
Monday was the first day of the new year. It was extra cold (-9 degrees F). We gathered as a family for our Morning Basket at 9:30am. I have to be honest and say I'm a practical mom. Not all of my kids are enthusiastic about doing a morning basket. I'm okay with that, they are welcome to miss our time together. However I do practice a little bit of encouragement and consequences. The encouragement is a treat. If you show up there is a treat waiting for you. If you don't the consequence is you miss out. (Today was a couple M&Ms, sometimes it might be a cookie, strawberries, apple slices, hot cocoa, peanut butter crackers, you just never know). And of course when we do a read aloud we pull out our trusty read aloud bin of candy. If you are sitting and listening to the read aloud you get a piece of candy. Today's morning basket included the following:
- Hymn: I'm Trying to Be like Jesus
- Prayer: Oliver
- Devotional: Kindness Isaiah 63:7
- Scripture Memory: Romans 8:16
- Other: Star Wars Mad Libs
- Read Aloud: Esperanza Rising
Tuesday was still cold. I got an appointment done, a trip to the store for peanut butter and vegan mayo, and then it was babysitting a nephew and 2 nieces at our house. Of course, it really is great to babysit them because they match up with several of my kids ages and everyone just plays and laughs and has fun. I have LESS work to do when more kids are over. I even got to read a book just for me for a while. The kids had piano lessons in the afternoon and then we did family time all evening.
Wednesday my sister came to watch the kids while Mason and I headed to the city to get his cast off. Yay! We have a lot of things to watch for, he's not done healing yet, but not having the cast on is wonderful. The day was uneventful and on the quiet side. Cub Scouts and youth activities happened in the evening.
Thursday started off with a phone call to the fire department because our oven heating element started sparking everywhere. Thankfully they were able to contain it easily. Now we wait 5 days for a new oven I ordered from Home Depot to arrive - and we feed 11 people without a stove or oven. When I finally looked around I discovered plenty of cooking options already in the house - microwave, toaster, crock pot, griddle, rice cooker, etc. It just takes rethinking how to prepare meals and possibly cooking them in batches if using something like the toaster or microwave.
I also had a doctor's appointment on Thursday and baby is looking good. We're closing in on the end of this pregnancy and just taking things a day at a time.
Friday found two of us at the dentist and scheduling appointments for next week to get some work done (a baby tooth pulled and a filling redone). Beyond that it was just a regular day.
Saturday hubby and I went on a date while Grandma watched the kids. It was great to get out and just talk without little ears around, go to the store together, etc. We also picked up the ice cream sundae and root beer float supplies for Mason's family birthday party on Sunday since we wouldn't be able to bake a cake with no stove/oven.
Sunday Mommy stayed home from church with the four youngest boys who all are congested, runny nosed, and fending off colds. In the evening family came over for the birthday party (Mason will turn 6 next Thursday). We also watched the last episode of Extinct as a family - it was good but hard to say goodbye to the series.
Monday we got snow and ice. Daddy started back to school for the new semester with two classes. A lot of the kids started the day out with a playdoh party.
Mason is healing somewhat post-cast removal(that happened last Wednesday). The incision is doing good so far, no infection. His leg and foot swelling has settled in and isn't increasing now, so we just have to wait several weeks for it to go down. The only iffy part is the pressure sore on the top of his foot/ankle, and we're following instructions for another week and a half before we get things re-evaluated. Unfortunately wounds like this don't heal well when you are paralyzed because your body doesn't always get the information that it needs to be healing something.
Tuesday I announced to the kids that after breakfast they needed to read something, either history or literature, and beginning readers needed to read to me. It was just one simple way to remind them to keep those learning routines going. Here is what they read:
- On Board the Titanic - Makayla
- 100 Cupboards - Joseph
- The 12th How to Train Your Dragon book - Emma
- Poppy - Daniel
- Ice Wizard Magic Tree House - Oliver
- All About Reading At the Pond - Caleb
- All About Reading Fox in a Box - Mason
Our day kept rolling peacefully from there. Mason was especially happy to move to the bigger chalkboard for his Handwriting Without Tears work as he moved into lowercase letters today. One interesting thing I've noticed with Mason is that lately he is reading text in his environment - words off of signs or the spines of books. It's a fun stage.
In the afternoon Daniel and I both had dental work done. Ouch. I'll be sore for several days, Daniel's didn't really hurt at all he said.
Another random thing: our new bed frame arrived today. We've had a big wooden frame and box springs for years and it was breaking, creaky, and always woke babies when my truck driver husband gets up between 2 and 3am for work. I decided if I want a decent chance of sleeping well once baby Rebekah is born that the frame and box springs had to go. So we ordered this frame on sale for $60 on Amazon. I'm typing these notes a couple days later and have to say I love it!
Wednesday we got back into a morning learning time rhythm. Was it perfect? No. But it was productive and felt good. I also tried a new recipe in my instant pot on this day - potato soup. It was delicious! In the evening we had Cub Scouts and Mutual (youth group for ages 12-18). I spent the whole time having contractions of course which is my usual evening pattern, but the kids had fun.
Thursday started with my 38 week pregnancy checkup (more on that here) and I spent the rest of the day having contractions. It was a good day with the windows open to take advantage of the unusually warm temperatures (55F! It felt like a heat wave even though it rained all day). Tomorrow the temperatures are supposed to drop as we go from rain to ice to several inches of snow on top of that. Back to winter.
It's Friday morning and we're taking the day off of formal learning. I'm feeling like a broody hen, wanting to nest. So I'll make a short list of deep cleaning chores and projects for us to do around the house and we will work on those today.
Happy Friday everyone!
In the afternoon Daniel and I both had dental work done. Ouch. I'll be sore for several days, Daniel's didn't really hurt at all he said.
Another random thing: our new bed frame arrived today. We've had a big wooden frame and box springs for years and it was breaking, creaky, and always woke babies when my truck driver husband gets up between 2 and 3am for work. I decided if I want a decent chance of sleeping well once baby Rebekah is born that the frame and box springs had to go. So we ordered this frame on sale for $60 on Amazon. I'm typing these notes a couple days later and have to say I love it!
Wednesday we got back into a morning learning time rhythm. Was it perfect? No. But it was productive and felt good. I also tried a new recipe in my instant pot on this day - potato soup. It was delicious! In the evening we had Cub Scouts and Mutual (youth group for ages 12-18). I spent the whole time having contractions of course which is my usual evening pattern, but the kids had fun.
Thursday started with my 38 week pregnancy checkup (more on that here) and I spent the rest of the day having contractions. It was a good day with the windows open to take advantage of the unusually warm temperatures (55F! It felt like a heat wave even though it rained all day). Tomorrow the temperatures are supposed to drop as we go from rain to ice to several inches of snow on top of that. Back to winter.
It's Friday morning and we're taking the day off of formal learning. I'm feeling like a broody hen, wanting to nest. So I'll make a short list of deep cleaning chores and projects for us to do around the house and we will work on those today.
Happy Friday everyone!
Great two weeks. You are getting so close to baby time. I hope nesting goes well today. Don't overdue it!
ReplyDeleteBlessings, Dawn
The next time you need to order an appliance, try Lowe's. They have a same day/in-stock guarantee on a lot of their appliances, and their prices are pretty much the same as Home Depot. When our washing machine died, I tried Home Depot and got the "5 days to deliver" story . . . we walked out without another word. We had our new washer from Lowe's found, purchased, hauled home, and installed within 2 hours.
ReplyDeleteNo, I don't work for Lowe's--neither does anyone I know. :) I just know what it is like to try to care for a large family without the usual tools.
Life at your house sounds good!