2018-2019 Homeschool Week 13

Another week has flown past! Sunday we celebrated November family birthdays. Monday we had 7 dental appointments, ran errands, and were on the go most of the day.

Tuesday Tobias turned 3 years old. He's such a sweet, spunky, fun little man. He talks more than Samuel did at this age but has a long way to go still. He likes dinosaurs, Paw Patrol, and PJ Masks. He giggles, runs, hides, and chases. He is a pretty non-picky eater and will try almost everything. He loves salsa and hummus and anything you can dip in those.

Rebekah turned 9 months old on the same day. Her second  tooth came in this week. She cruises the furniture all the time and will let go and stand there for a few seconds before grabbing on again. She is generally happy and has favorites among her siblings depending on the day.

School on Tuesday was an exercise in patience. It felt like dragging certain children through the morning. I can tell it is time for a solid break soon. We are going to take the week of Thanksgiving off, which leaves us this week and next to get through.

Wednesday was a much smoother day. People trekked right through their work in a cheery mood. There was reading and history and math and all the usual subjects with no grumps. The evening had our usual church youth activities and Cub Scouts.

Thursday one grump surfaced. It is just a fact of life in a large family - there are so many personalities and so many feelings swirling around. Rarely will we go through an entire day without someone being out of sorts for a bit, and that is okay.

My husband and I had a budget update meeting together in the evening. It isn't the most exciting thing to do together but I love that we stay on the same page with our money.

Related to that, we also got my husband's official surgery dates. Yes, plural. He will be having knee surgery January 2nd and shoulder surgery January 30th. The surgeon expects him to be off work for 4 months. For one-third of the year we will have no income. That is a very overwhelming idea for a family of 12. It isn't the best news in the world, but we are doing all we can to prepare for this adventure. For most of that 4 months he won't be able to lift the little kids, including all the lifting we do multiple times a day with Mason. It limits a lot of things, like me taking a short term job while he is off work, because he won't be able to take care of the kids. We are looking on the bright side and plan to enjoy the extra family time this winter with Daddy home!

It is Friday afternoon as I type this. One child is practicing piano, three are playing Legos, two are drawing, one is at work, one is cruising the furniture, and two are discussing a favorite show. Dinner is in the crock pot and it is time to hit publish on this post. I'm going to turn on some Christmas music and gather some helpers to put away the laundry.

Happy November everyone!