At some point in my journey in motherhood, I've learned to forgive myself. I don't know when exactly it happened. Was it with the first baby? Or when I had the second? Was it when I had to give up nursing Felicity? That took a lot of forgiveness.
It's probably been a gradual process, a lesson learned deeper with each child. Now I'm expecting my fifth baby--only 5 weeks to go. I find myself often thinking, "It's alright... It's because you're pregnant... You deserve it... Better to just let it go... Just try your best, it's all you can do... Don't worry about it... If it's important, you can do it tomorrow... Don't feel guilty... and all sorts of other phrases that excuse me from feeling guilty about whatever it is I'm thinking about.
I've just wondered if this is a good thing. I realized yesterday I'm not studying the gospel anymore. I read the scriptures and hear the prophets and I enjoy what I read and hear but I don't think deeply on a subject anymore. I don't even feel like I can! I don't contribute to gospel discussions in sunday school. I sometimes don't even go to Relief Society because I might cry. I wonder if I forgive myself so much that I'm losing something.
But forgiving myself keeps me sane. Otherwise, when I stay up late at night with insomnia playing Sudoku puzzles I would feel frustrated with myself and my life. Now, I just say to myself, Don't stress; tomorrow will be a sick day. Or when I catch myself raising my voice to the kids, I just remember, Quiet time is not too far away and I can pray harder for patience tomorrow! Or, when I haven't planned a ward activity for several months and that is my calling, I think, Maybe next year will be better!
Do we sometimes excuse ourselves too much?
You know, it doesn't really matter anyway, does it?! I cope; I survive; I try to remember to enjoy it.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
An Update
I thought I'd post an update on happenings around here since it's been a while. I should include pictures but that would mean I would have to exercise patience while uploading them to the computer and then getting them onto the blog. I just don't think I can be that patient right now!
The pregnancy is going well. It's been a hard one, that's for sure, but we're excited for a baby boy. I'm huge already...two months to go and counting! Felicity passed her crib on to the baby. We moved it into our bedroom and set up a big-girl bed for Felicity in the girls' room. She was very excited to have it. "Mine new bed!" she exclaimed all day and evening. It was hard for her to sleep in it. She was up a few times and fell out of it once during the night, but she's getting used to it. And she loves it.
Felicity is talking, talking, talking. She cracks me up with how well she is putting sentences together. Sometimes she just doesn't stop, even when you're hoping for some privacy like in a public restroom. She loves to "read" books like her older siblings do. When the older kids play a new song they've learned on the piano to daddy or grandma or anyone who will listen, she has to play her song too--and she sings along. It is wonderful to see her growing up.
Ella-Bella-Cinderella just turned 5 years old! She is very happy to be able to chew gum now. She is reading like crazy; you just can't stop her! She loves doing lessons for kidschool. She wants to be included in everything just like the older kids. She has learned "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" on the piano and it sounds very nice. Ella is so easy to get along with. You can't help but love her.
Abba-Dabba is growing too. In fact, both girls have grown over an inch in the last 3 months! Some days she wakes up and she is so cheerful and helpful. She does her chores pleasantly, then helps her sisters with their chores. Today she wiped Felicity's bum after Felicity went on the potty four different times! Felicity didn't like it at first; she wanted mommy to do it, but mommy was busy. By the second time around, Felicity was done on the potty and shouting, "AB-BY!!...AB-BY!! WIPE MINE BUM!!" Sometimes, Abby is not so pleasant. Like last night, in the middle of dinner, OUT OF NOWHERE, she starts crying. At first it's quiet and she's trying to hold it in and the tears are streaming down her face. When we ask her what is wrong (because none of us have any idea why!), she won't answer, she just cries and cries and it gets louder and louder. We offer to help but she just won't take it. She just cries. Finally it comes out that she can't find her favorite Barbie. She sometimes cries in random outbursts like that, Matt and I just look at each other in puzzlement. She is a champion bike-rider. She can manage the hills on our road like a breeze.
Kian is currently absorbed in computers. It's really all he thinks about. Almost everything out of his mouth is something about computers. He gets a couple of hours in the afternoon to explore his computers after completing all of his kidschool requirements. He's not playing games; he's opening and installing programs, learning how they work, making things with them, connecting monitors, and a bunch of other stuff I don't understand. He knows so much more than I do. I often tell him, "I don't understand what you're saying. Can you talk to Daddy about this?" As soon as Daddy is home, Kian is firing questions, "Why don't you install such-and-such program on your computer, Dad? It's on my computer and this is what it does..." His questions are much more technical but since my brain completely turns off when I hear computer language, I can't even remember them to write them down.
I do make sure he learns other things to give this kid some balance in his life. Actually, I consider that my role as his mother/teacher--just to mentor him enough to balance his education out a little. He studies 1,000-page computer manuals for fun. It's amazing.
Our house is wonderful and the land is so beautiful right now. Isn't October the best month of the entire year? I'm loving the fall weather and the color of the foliage outside and the cool breeze that flows into my bedroom windows at night and lets me snuggle under my big down comforter and feel so warm (but not hot!) We go for walks every day. Today was a windy one! We see woolly bear caterpillars all over the road and even small snakes sometimes.
We have new pets. Our friends ordered guinea eggs and incubated them and now we have 10 guinea keets (baby guineas). If you don't know what guineas are, they are funky-looking birds about the size of chickens that will eat lots of bugs on our land next summer--especially ticks! They'll go through your garden and eat all of the pests and none of the produce; isn't that amazing? We had them in a box in the house for a while because they're still small but they stink! I couldn't stand it! And they are good flyers already and would fly out of the box constantly. When we came home from church on Sunday there was poop all over the dining room and I said, "That's it! They're moving to the garage!"
Matt and I purchased a wood stove for the house so that we can save on astronomical heating bills. That'll be a fun addition to our home. Hopefully we'll be warmer than we were last year, especially with a newborn coming in December! I kept the thermostat so low last year and the bills were still almost $400/month. Forget that. This year, we should be toasty warm with our new wood stove.
Matt finished his first quarter of school. He's teaching 6th grade this year. He survived parent-teacher conferences last week (what long days!) He is singing in the ward choir now and is, as always, a wonderful, patient, adorable husband and father.
We had family come visit us in Missouri this month for their first time which was lots of fun. First, my dad and Jackie came from California and showered us with presents and took us out to eat. It was wonderful to see them and for the kids to interact with Grandpa Chad and Grandma Jackie. And then Randi came from Utah and hung out with us for a week. She brought the kids their home-made Halloween costumes which are awesome and showered us with gifts and treats too. The kids loved every minute of it. And she took the kids out for the day after a night when I couldn't sleep and I loved every minute of it! Thanks, Grandpa and Grandmas!
That's life here at the Mussers in Missouri. (Maybe pictures will be forthcoming).
The pregnancy is going well. It's been a hard one, that's for sure, but we're excited for a baby boy. I'm huge already...two months to go and counting! Felicity passed her crib on to the baby. We moved it into our bedroom and set up a big-girl bed for Felicity in the girls' room. She was very excited to have it. "Mine new bed!" she exclaimed all day and evening. It was hard for her to sleep in it. She was up a few times and fell out of it once during the night, but she's getting used to it. And she loves it.
Felicity is talking, talking, talking. She cracks me up with how well she is putting sentences together. Sometimes she just doesn't stop, even when you're hoping for some privacy like in a public restroom. She loves to "read" books like her older siblings do. When the older kids play a new song they've learned on the piano to daddy or grandma or anyone who will listen, she has to play her song too--and she sings along. It is wonderful to see her growing up.
Ella-Bella-Cinderella just turned 5 years old! She is very happy to be able to chew gum now. She is reading like crazy; you just can't stop her! She loves doing lessons for kidschool. She wants to be included in everything just like the older kids. She has learned "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" on the piano and it sounds very nice. Ella is so easy to get along with. You can't help but love her.
Abba-Dabba is growing too. In fact, both girls have grown over an inch in the last 3 months! Some days she wakes up and she is so cheerful and helpful. She does her chores pleasantly, then helps her sisters with their chores. Today she wiped Felicity's bum after Felicity went on the potty four different times! Felicity didn't like it at first; she wanted mommy to do it, but mommy was busy. By the second time around, Felicity was done on the potty and shouting, "AB-BY!!...AB-BY!! WIPE MINE BUM!!" Sometimes, Abby is not so pleasant. Like last night, in the middle of dinner, OUT OF NOWHERE, she starts crying. At first it's quiet and she's trying to hold it in and the tears are streaming down her face. When we ask her what is wrong (because none of us have any idea why!), she won't answer, she just cries and cries and it gets louder and louder. We offer to help but she just won't take it. She just cries. Finally it comes out that she can't find her favorite Barbie. She sometimes cries in random outbursts like that, Matt and I just look at each other in puzzlement. She is a champion bike-rider. She can manage the hills on our road like a breeze.
Kian is currently absorbed in computers. It's really all he thinks about. Almost everything out of his mouth is something about computers. He gets a couple of hours in the afternoon to explore his computers after completing all of his kidschool requirements. He's not playing games; he's opening and installing programs, learning how they work, making things with them, connecting monitors, and a bunch of other stuff I don't understand. He knows so much more than I do. I often tell him, "I don't understand what you're saying. Can you talk to Daddy about this?" As soon as Daddy is home, Kian is firing questions, "Why don't you install such-and-such program on your computer, Dad? It's on my computer and this is what it does..." His questions are much more technical but since my brain completely turns off when I hear computer language, I can't even remember them to write them down.
I do make sure he learns other things to give this kid some balance in his life. Actually, I consider that my role as his mother/teacher--just to mentor him enough to balance his education out a little. He studies 1,000-page computer manuals for fun. It's amazing.
Our house is wonderful and the land is so beautiful right now. Isn't October the best month of the entire year? I'm loving the fall weather and the color of the foliage outside and the cool breeze that flows into my bedroom windows at night and lets me snuggle under my big down comforter and feel so warm (but not hot!) We go for walks every day. Today was a windy one! We see woolly bear caterpillars all over the road and even small snakes sometimes.
We have new pets. Our friends ordered guinea eggs and incubated them and now we have 10 guinea keets (baby guineas). If you don't know what guineas are, they are funky-looking birds about the size of chickens that will eat lots of bugs on our land next summer--especially ticks! They'll go through your garden and eat all of the pests and none of the produce; isn't that amazing? We had them in a box in the house for a while because they're still small but they stink! I couldn't stand it! And they are good flyers already and would fly out of the box constantly. When we came home from church on Sunday there was poop all over the dining room and I said, "That's it! They're moving to the garage!"
Matt and I purchased a wood stove for the house so that we can save on astronomical heating bills. That'll be a fun addition to our home. Hopefully we'll be warmer than we were last year, especially with a newborn coming in December! I kept the thermostat so low last year and the bills were still almost $400/month. Forget that. This year, we should be toasty warm with our new wood stove.
Matt finished his first quarter of school. He's teaching 6th grade this year. He survived parent-teacher conferences last week (what long days!) He is singing in the ward choir now and is, as always, a wonderful, patient, adorable husband and father.
We had family come visit us in Missouri this month for their first time which was lots of fun. First, my dad and Jackie came from California and showered us with presents and took us out to eat. It was wonderful to see them and for the kids to interact with Grandpa Chad and Grandma Jackie. And then Randi came from Utah and hung out with us for a week. She brought the kids their home-made Halloween costumes which are awesome and showered us with gifts and treats too. The kids loved every minute of it. And she took the kids out for the day after a night when I couldn't sleep and I loved every minute of it! Thanks, Grandpa and Grandmas!
That's life here at the Mussers in Missouri. (Maybe pictures will be forthcoming).
Sunday, September 12, 2010
God's Porch Light
For Family Home Evening tonight, the usual jobs were assigned: lesson, prayer, songs, treat, scripture, and activity. Tonight, Abby was on activity. Rhyetta made a great suggestion that Abby loved. We would go on a night hike. After Kian gave us a lesson (read the story of Elijah from the Old Testament), and Ella gave us our treat we headed outside for a walk. We walked up our long tree lined driveway with flashlights in hand. We decided to walk up the road to the top of a little hill where we could see for miles around. As we were walking, the stars were coming into view one by one. The crescent moon was shining brightly, and the night insects and critters were singing loudly. As we paused at the top of this small hill, we looked around and saw city lights, radio tower lights, electric windmill lights, and house lights in the distance. Rhyetta commented on how many porch lights were on indicating where people lived. There were dozens. The attention was turned to the moon and what it looked like. I commented that it is God's porch light.
How reassuring to know that we are given so many examples in our hectic, busy lives that there is One smiling upon us each night as we sleep and wind down each day. One who, as Tom Bodett coined, "Leave[s] the light on for you" and me. Even when there's a new moon and all seems dark and frightening, take a look and see what you can see. Amazingly enough, you can still make out the shape of the moon. It's not completely darkened. We are given dark moments in our lives so we can appreciate the light.
Thank goodness for these lessons nature and the Gospel give us.
How reassuring to know that we are given so many examples in our hectic, busy lives that there is One smiling upon us each night as we sleep and wind down each day. One who, as Tom Bodett coined, "Leave[s] the light on for you" and me. Even when there's a new moon and all seems dark and frightening, take a look and see what you can see. Amazingly enough, you can still make out the shape of the moon. It's not completely darkened. We are given dark moments in our lives so we can appreciate the light.
Thank goodness for these lessons nature and the Gospel give us.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
And The Winner Is...
We are sending you kisses from our new baby. Can you guess what we are going to have?
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Why I Love Couponing
The coupon deals this month have been so good....I must share.
First, free beverages. Matt and the kids have gone online to play a Sobe Life Water game and they keep winning Buy One Get One Free coupons. You can play every day if you want. Well, we ended up with 20 or so of these coupons. Last week at CVS, Sobe Life Water was on sale Buy One Get One Free. When you combine a BOGO free sale with a BOGO free coupon, they both turn out free! So we got about 40 bottles of Life Water for free. Fun!
Second, breakfast cereal. Normally I consider it a good deal if I can use coupons and sales to get cereal for $1/box or less. One time I sent Matt to the store with a stack of coupons and told him to get some Cheerios if it was $1/box or less. He came home with 52 boxes! The kids made huge walls of Cheerios boxes! We went through them all while I was sick with nausea.
Well, this week's deal is even better than $1/box. On sale now at Hy-Vee (my favorite grocery store) are General Mills cereal. In the store ad is a coupon for $10 off instantly when you buy 6 boxes of cereal. Well, I can combine my own coupons with this store ad coupon and save $13-14 off of the 6 boxes of cereal. Already, my $1/box threshold has been met. But, to sweeten the deal even further, when you buy these 6 boxes of cereal, the register prints up a $6 catalina coupon which is basically $6 off your next purchase at the store (it's like cash in your pocket good on anything at Hy-Vee). So, not only am I getting a smoking hot deal on cereal, they are giving me money back.
Tonight on a date night, Matt and I stopped in at Hy-Vee. We both picked 6 boxes of cereal, gathered our coupons and checked out. His total was $3.83 after coupons. Mine was $3.65. Then the store gave us back a $6 catalina coupon. So, basically, they paid us just over $2 to buy 6 boxes of cereal. Cha-ching! Love, love, love deals like these.
It's why couponing is fun.
PS: Should I feel bad for eating Peanut Butter Captain Crunch at 10 at night? My excuse is: I'm pregnant!
First, free beverages. Matt and the kids have gone online to play a Sobe Life Water game and they keep winning Buy One Get One Free coupons. You can play every day if you want. Well, we ended up with 20 or so of these coupons. Last week at CVS, Sobe Life Water was on sale Buy One Get One Free. When you combine a BOGO free sale with a BOGO free coupon, they both turn out free! So we got about 40 bottles of Life Water for free. Fun!
Second, breakfast cereal. Normally I consider it a good deal if I can use coupons and sales to get cereal for $1/box or less. One time I sent Matt to the store with a stack of coupons and told him to get some Cheerios if it was $1/box or less. He came home with 52 boxes! The kids made huge walls of Cheerios boxes! We went through them all while I was sick with nausea.
Well, this week's deal is even better than $1/box. On sale now at Hy-Vee (my favorite grocery store) are General Mills cereal. In the store ad is a coupon for $10 off instantly when you buy 6 boxes of cereal. Well, I can combine my own coupons with this store ad coupon and save $13-14 off of the 6 boxes of cereal. Already, my $1/box threshold has been met. But, to sweeten the deal even further, when you buy these 6 boxes of cereal, the register prints up a $6 catalina coupon which is basically $6 off your next purchase at the store (it's like cash in your pocket good on anything at Hy-Vee). So, not only am I getting a smoking hot deal on cereal, they are giving me money back.
Tonight on a date night, Matt and I stopped in at Hy-Vee. We both picked 6 boxes of cereal, gathered our coupons and checked out. His total was $3.83 after coupons. Mine was $3.65. Then the store gave us back a $6 catalina coupon. So, basically, they paid us just over $2 to buy 6 boxes of cereal. Cha-ching! Love, love, love deals like these.
It's why couponing is fun.
PS: Should I feel bad for eating Peanut Butter Captain Crunch at 10 at night? My excuse is: I'm pregnant!
Saturday, August 21, 2010
How Kidschool Runs
Matt will have to give an update on how his school year has started out (I'll give you a hint: it's been good!) After a summer off from all my normal duties (cleaning, cooking, and child-rearing so that I could lay in bed and try not to feel nauseous) I was worried how I would survive taking care of the kids and the house when Matt went back to work. Well, it's been two weeks, and it's been going great!
I spent a lot of time preparing for kidschool this year; that is what we call home school around here. If you're curious what we're doing for school, read on. I thought I would share. If you're not curious, then you might want to stop reading now! I always enjoy reading other people's schedules so that's where I'll start.
I set my alarm for 7 am. Isn't that the best time to wake up in the morning? Not too early and not too late. I'm so blessed I get to wake up every day at 7. It's such a habit now that I wake up at that time even on the weekends. I have an hour to myself to let the chickens out of their coop, play fetch with our dog Storm a few times, eat breakfast by myself (I relish this), read my scriptures, start some laundry, get myself ready and tidy my room.
At 8 am if the kids aren't up already, I put on some quiet but uplifting music as their wake-up call. I open their doors and tell them, "It's time to wake up, sleepyhead!" After about 5 minutes, I turn on some dancing music which is the signal that it's chore time and time to get dressed. No more playing quietly, no more laying in bed, no more reading. It's time to start the day! Last week I chose "They Might Be Giants" (one of our faves). This week it was a CD my friend Emily made for me a couple years back with "I Want to Soak Up the Sun" and other fun songs to sing along with and dance to. The kids get their chores done, I help Felicity get ready and tidy the kitchen and make their breakfast and 20-30 minutes later they're at the breakfast table. Now the music in the background is their Suzuki piano CD which they're supposed to listen to daily. Throughout the day if there is extra time, they have it for themselves. It's downtime and I try not to pester them.
But by 9 am with teeth and hair brushed, we're ready for kidschool. They have their turn practicing piano and then we gather together for morning devotional where we begin with a prayer. We memorize poetry, a scripture of the month, and a Primary song of the month and we read a story about manners or a story from the Friend. We then do our spanish. We're learning spanish this year by repetitively listening to a recording of a short story in spanish or by learning songs in spanish. I've gotten some good selections from the library that are quite beautiful and catchy. They are learning, slowly but surely. It's great practice for me too.
By now it's about 10 am. Because it's technically still summertime and very hot, we go outside for P.E. in the morning. Probably in the autumn and winter, we'll do P.E. later in the day. The kids are the ones who asked for P.E. I got an awesome book at the library with suggestions of fun games to get the kids moving. So far we've played balloon volleyball, badminton, hopscotch and blanket toss (using a blanket like a parachute). I brought out a tennis racket of Matt's from years ago and showed the kids how to serve (it was hard for them!) But I was loving it. It totally made me want to play tennis again. Sometimes we weed the garden.
I have been so surprised at how little the kids want to play outside. Now that we have land to explore, I thought they'd be climbing trees and playing hide and seek all day long. I actually have to require an hour of outside time in order for them to go outside. It's so strange.
About 11 am, we come in for a snack and then we gather for an hour of kidschool. On different days of the week, we study different subjects. For example, on Monday we have an hour for American History and Geography. On Tuesday, we study our science. This year it is Zoology. On Wednesday, we learn World History and Biography (this semester it's Leonardo da Vinci!) Thursday is Art History/Art and Music Study. If the subjects don't take an hour, again, it's just free play time till I gather them around again.
Then we have an hour set aside for Kian and Abby to do English and Math. It doesn't really take an hour, though. I have never required so much of the kids before. If this seems like a lot, it did to me too but I just felt it was time to fill in some of Kian's holes (because I've been rather relaxed about school until recently) and it feels like the older two are ready for this level. I'm using an excellent english resource from Milestones Academy. Each day they write an entry in their Copybook. It might be a poem, a saying or some sentences. They get a little grammar lesson every now and then and also memorization. I really like it. For math, we're continuing using an old-fashioned math lesson book I found online that is free. Kian is working on memorizing multiplication facts and doing advanced multiplication. Abby finished simple addition and subtraction last year and is starting simple multiplication. Ella won't be left out of all of the fun so she has demanded math lessons too. She has learned to write her numbers 1-10 so far. Monday we do a math lesson. Tuesday they have 20 minutes to play math games on the computer. Wednesday we do a math lesson. Thursday we read picture books about mathematicians or with math as a subject. There are so many fun ones!
Whew! We did it! We've eaten lunch by now as well. Once all of the subjects are covered and the house is tidy again, we enter quiet time. This is when Felicity naps and I read and rest. Sometimes the kids can watch a movie. Kian usually uses the time to work on his computer (only allowed to play computer games if it's Monday). We usually start quiet time about 2 and end at 4:30 or 5. I just seem to need that much time by myself and Felicity usually cooperates with long naps.
We make dinner and eat dinner when Daddy comes home and the kids go wild and crazy wrestling with Daddy or running around the house getting some energy out. We spend time together, or sometimes apart, but gather again about 7 or 7:30 for reading time and scripture and prayer time. Currently this semester we are reading "Tales from Shakespeare" and "The Four Story Mistake." As a family we pray and we read a selection from the Old Testament.
The kids are in bed 8 to 8:30 pm. Matt and I can then do whatever we need to on our own to prepare for the next day, work on callings, or go to bed early. I usually read.
Fridays are different. After chore time and breakfast, we have our "Wild Day." We read a bit from some nature books and then go outside for a nature walk and snack. Starting September 10th, we'll be participating in a co-op on Friday afternoons where the kids will get to take a lot of extracurricular activities like art and gizmos and drama and whatever else they want.
That's what we're doing around here. It's been going so well, I'm very happy. We are all learning a lot. The kids are writing a lot which was a major deficiency last year. I think Kian is finding he can do well some of the things he hated to do before like writing and math. He is studying chemistry and computers on his own. Matt mentors him sporadically in those subjects.
Now, what will happen after Christmas? Well, I've taken the entire month of January off and then after that... I'm guessing we'll do a lot of the same subject-wise but I'll have Kian and Abby do the reading on their own and then we'll discuss together what they've read. Hopefully by then the habits will be in place and I'll be able to take a step back with the little ones (mainly, the baby) and the older ones can continue on their own.
Not having a car while Matt's at work has been a little difficult, but I have enough opportunities to run errands in the evening or go to game night with friends that I haven't felt isolated.
Overall, life has been going great!
I spent a lot of time preparing for kidschool this year; that is what we call home school around here. If you're curious what we're doing for school, read on. I thought I would share. If you're not curious, then you might want to stop reading now! I always enjoy reading other people's schedules so that's where I'll start.
I set my alarm for 7 am. Isn't that the best time to wake up in the morning? Not too early and not too late. I'm so blessed I get to wake up every day at 7. It's such a habit now that I wake up at that time even on the weekends. I have an hour to myself to let the chickens out of their coop, play fetch with our dog Storm a few times, eat breakfast by myself (I relish this), read my scriptures, start some laundry, get myself ready and tidy my room.
At 8 am if the kids aren't up already, I put on some quiet but uplifting music as their wake-up call. I open their doors and tell them, "It's time to wake up, sleepyhead!" After about 5 minutes, I turn on some dancing music which is the signal that it's chore time and time to get dressed. No more playing quietly, no more laying in bed, no more reading. It's time to start the day! Last week I chose "They Might Be Giants" (one of our faves). This week it was a CD my friend Emily made for me a couple years back with "I Want to Soak Up the Sun" and other fun songs to sing along with and dance to. The kids get their chores done, I help Felicity get ready and tidy the kitchen and make their breakfast and 20-30 minutes later they're at the breakfast table. Now the music in the background is their Suzuki piano CD which they're supposed to listen to daily. Throughout the day if there is extra time, they have it for themselves. It's downtime and I try not to pester them.
But by 9 am with teeth and hair brushed, we're ready for kidschool. They have their turn practicing piano and then we gather together for morning devotional where we begin with a prayer. We memorize poetry, a scripture of the month, and a Primary song of the month and we read a story about manners or a story from the Friend. We then do our spanish. We're learning spanish this year by repetitively listening to a recording of a short story in spanish or by learning songs in spanish. I've gotten some good selections from the library that are quite beautiful and catchy. They are learning, slowly but surely. It's great practice for me too.
By now it's about 10 am. Because it's technically still summertime and very hot, we go outside for P.E. in the morning. Probably in the autumn and winter, we'll do P.E. later in the day. The kids are the ones who asked for P.E. I got an awesome book at the library with suggestions of fun games to get the kids moving. So far we've played balloon volleyball, badminton, hopscotch and blanket toss (using a blanket like a parachute). I brought out a tennis racket of Matt's from years ago and showed the kids how to serve (it was hard for them!) But I was loving it. It totally made me want to play tennis again. Sometimes we weed the garden.
I have been so surprised at how little the kids want to play outside. Now that we have land to explore, I thought they'd be climbing trees and playing hide and seek all day long. I actually have to require an hour of outside time in order for them to go outside. It's so strange.
About 11 am, we come in for a snack and then we gather for an hour of kidschool. On different days of the week, we study different subjects. For example, on Monday we have an hour for American History and Geography. On Tuesday, we study our science. This year it is Zoology. On Wednesday, we learn World History and Biography (this semester it's Leonardo da Vinci!) Thursday is Art History/Art and Music Study. If the subjects don't take an hour, again, it's just free play time till I gather them around again.
Then we have an hour set aside for Kian and Abby to do English and Math. It doesn't really take an hour, though. I have never required so much of the kids before. If this seems like a lot, it did to me too but I just felt it was time to fill in some of Kian's holes (because I've been rather relaxed about school until recently) and it feels like the older two are ready for this level. I'm using an excellent english resource from Milestones Academy. Each day they write an entry in their Copybook. It might be a poem, a saying or some sentences. They get a little grammar lesson every now and then and also memorization. I really like it. For math, we're continuing using an old-fashioned math lesson book I found online that is free. Kian is working on memorizing multiplication facts and doing advanced multiplication. Abby finished simple addition and subtraction last year and is starting simple multiplication. Ella won't be left out of all of the fun so she has demanded math lessons too. She has learned to write her numbers 1-10 so far. Monday we do a math lesson. Tuesday they have 20 minutes to play math games on the computer. Wednesday we do a math lesson. Thursday we read picture books about mathematicians or with math as a subject. There are so many fun ones!
Whew! We did it! We've eaten lunch by now as well. Once all of the subjects are covered and the house is tidy again, we enter quiet time. This is when Felicity naps and I read and rest. Sometimes the kids can watch a movie. Kian usually uses the time to work on his computer (only allowed to play computer games if it's Monday). We usually start quiet time about 2 and end at 4:30 or 5. I just seem to need that much time by myself and Felicity usually cooperates with long naps.
We make dinner and eat dinner when Daddy comes home and the kids go wild and crazy wrestling with Daddy or running around the house getting some energy out. We spend time together, or sometimes apart, but gather again about 7 or 7:30 for reading time and scripture and prayer time. Currently this semester we are reading "Tales from Shakespeare" and "The Four Story Mistake." As a family we pray and we read a selection from the Old Testament.
The kids are in bed 8 to 8:30 pm. Matt and I can then do whatever we need to on our own to prepare for the next day, work on callings, or go to bed early. I usually read.
Fridays are different. After chore time and breakfast, we have our "Wild Day." We read a bit from some nature books and then go outside for a nature walk and snack. Starting September 10th, we'll be participating in a co-op on Friday afternoons where the kids will get to take a lot of extracurricular activities like art and gizmos and drama and whatever else they want.
That's what we're doing around here. It's been going so well, I'm very happy. We are all learning a lot. The kids are writing a lot which was a major deficiency last year. I think Kian is finding he can do well some of the things he hated to do before like writing and math. He is studying chemistry and computers on his own. Matt mentors him sporadically in those subjects.
Now, what will happen after Christmas? Well, I've taken the entire month of January off and then after that... I'm guessing we'll do a lot of the same subject-wise but I'll have Kian and Abby do the reading on their own and then we'll discuss together what they've read. Hopefully by then the habits will be in place and I'll be able to take a step back with the little ones (mainly, the baby) and the older ones can continue on their own.
Not having a car while Matt's at work has been a little difficult, but I have enough opportunities to run errands in the evening or go to game night with friends that I haven't felt isolated.
Overall, life has been going great!
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Belonging
I realized something cool this morning... It was how well we fit in here.
Who would have thought that two modern kids growing up in So-Cal minutes from the beach with all the conveniences that L.A. offers would end up belonging in the farm country of rural Missouri? The friends we've made since we've moved here feel like they'll be our friends for life. When we go to church on Sunday, the parking lot is filled with vans and cars covered in as much mud and dirt as ours is because most of them live in the country too. I think the average family size in our ward is 8. It's 40 miles to go to the library, and just as far for any store other than Wal-Mart. I just think it's funny. And it feels really good to belong.
Who would have thought that two modern kids growing up in So-Cal minutes from the beach with all the conveniences that L.A. offers would end up belonging in the farm country of rural Missouri? The friends we've made since we've moved here feel like they'll be our friends for life. When we go to church on Sunday, the parking lot is filled with vans and cars covered in as much mud and dirt as ours is because most of them live in the country too. I think the average family size in our ward is 8. It's 40 miles to go to the library, and just as far for any store other than Wal-Mart. I just think it's funny. And it feels really good to belong.
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