A Week, Briefly (#17)
Monday we started the day with a hearty Dad-breakfast. He cooked up hash browns, eggs, and sausage patties, then served them all with a gallon of orange juice. He loves to do it; the kids love to eat it; and I thought it was a fun final-day-of-vacation sort of thing to do.
After chores and breakfast, we had back-to-school interviews. I didn't want to do them; I felt overwhelmed and exhausted at the thought of them; I'm glad we did them. Now, no matter when the baby comes, we've organized ourselves for the semester, and the kids can carry on.
Life goes on a lot the same as it was before the break.
*J11 asked to continue her penmanship lessons even though her penmanship is truly beautiful. Who am I to say no?
*M12 and S12 dumped their language arts lessons. We'll look for a substitute sometime later, but for now they're reading and writing daily in various journals, so I'm not worried.
*E14 asked to start Latin (a new subject), and we've dumped our plan to do Apologia Biology in favor of Alpha Omega LifePac Science 9. I think the Alpha Omega program is less rigorous than Apologia and more approachable (the separate lesson books are less intimidating than a huge textbook) for our girl. Dad agrees that it is a better fit for her skill/attention/motivation levels at this time in her life. I priced out the needed supplies, and ordering the complete book set, the experiment DVD, and the experiment kit at Christianbook.com was the best priced option I could find. As she finished Health last semester, this new science class will take its place in her schedule. It is a year-long course, and I'm not sure how we'll go about timing it, but at least she can get started. We're also putting away the Calculus Without Tears book for a little while and having her return to fractions work in Math-U-See Epsilon.
Dad worked on mending the hole in the hallway ceiling that he made with his foot (and body--you should see his bruises) while searching for some missing DVDs on Sunday night.
Tuesday was our first day of school after the Christmas break. It was terribly long (some kids not turning in school work until 5 pm!) and achingly hard.
I3 threw up all morning.
I had a midwife appointment before lunch (baby positioned head down and "very low"--believe me, I feel it)
H5 and A7 had fun doing their school, but the rest of the kids had the same blahs I had.
I was in tears at the dinner table--not a good way to end the school day.
I continue to have contractions off and on all day, but they go away every night. I'm walking around in a constant fog.
On Wednesday I woke up absolutely unable to face a full day of school. It's not that the kids make me work all that hard . . . so I'm not really sure why I couldn't face it, but there it was. I asked Dad if he could handle spending the morning at the art museum with us before he had to head to bed. He said yes. So we went.
It was a good morning.
After lunch, the older 4 did the bare minimum for their academics--personal scripture study, math, reading. Everyone was done by 2:30 pm so we did a walk-at-home video. I didn't want to get up and walk, but I want this baby born, so I walked.
Then kids did their own thing:
Still no baby.
At least I didn't cry at dinner.
On Thursday we took a sick day--5 vomiting children.
S12 and J11 were the only ones not taken down that day. S12 wandered around the sleeping, moaning, aching bodies of her siblings and muttered, "I'm bored. I'm so glad we have a big family. I'm so glad we don't have just 1 or 2 kids. I'm bored."
For that, I'm thankful for that sick day.
Something in my body shifted so that walking suddenly became excruciatingly painful. Walking was my one consolation, my one comfort, in this uncomfortable time. At least the kids needed me enough to distract me from my despair.
Whoops! Number 6, J11, was added to our stomach bug casualty list at 9:30 that night. S12 got a bucket and towel and laid them out next to her bed just in case . . .
Friday was a recovery day.
S12 is still symptom free. Isn't it funny how some people resist bugs and others don't?
Everyone watched 3 episodes of Signing Time this morning. The older ones pretend to not like it, but I've noticed that if it is on, they can't resist. I'm calling that school for the day--1.5 hours of foreign language.
Everyone is quiet--in need of lots of rest and calories after yesterday. I'm glad to see their appetites back, even if they are tentative. I've played Uno and Connect 4 with the little guys; the older ones are reading, reading, reading in bed. The sun is out, but the temperatures are low, and we're just doing what we need to do today.
I can walk again, but I'm having other strange excruciating pains that are not contractions. I'm weepy, exhausted, and just done. I'm also having very mild contractions, but they're staying irregular. I long for them to turn into real labor, but I'm afraid I'm in for an indefinite number of days of waiting. Though I'm not doing a very good job, I'm working hard at counting my blessings.
On Saturday some of the older girls are scheduled to go visiting some new members of their class at church. Otherwise we're simply doing chores and getting through another day of waiting. I'm trying to come up with a fun distraction that will help us (me!) find joy in the day. I think I'll check the weather forecast to see if it will be warm enough to bundle up and go for a winter hike.
After chores and breakfast, we had back-to-school interviews. I didn't want to do them; I felt overwhelmed and exhausted at the thought of them; I'm glad we did them. Now, no matter when the baby comes, we've organized ourselves for the semester, and the kids can carry on.
Life goes on a lot the same as it was before the break.
*J11 asked to continue her penmanship lessons even though her penmanship is truly beautiful. Who am I to say no?
*M12 and S12 dumped their language arts lessons. We'll look for a substitute sometime later, but for now they're reading and writing daily in various journals, so I'm not worried.
*E14 asked to start Latin (a new subject), and we've dumped our plan to do Apologia Biology in favor of Alpha Omega LifePac Science 9. I think the Alpha Omega program is less rigorous than Apologia and more approachable (the separate lesson books are less intimidating than a huge textbook) for our girl. Dad agrees that it is a better fit for her skill/attention/motivation levels at this time in her life. I priced out the needed supplies, and ordering the complete book set, the experiment DVD, and the experiment kit at Christianbook.com was the best priced option I could find. As she finished Health last semester, this new science class will take its place in her schedule. It is a year-long course, and I'm not sure how we'll go about timing it, but at least she can get started. We're also putting away the Calculus Without Tears book for a little while and having her return to fractions work in Math-U-See Epsilon.
Dad worked on mending the hole in the hallway ceiling that he made with his foot (and body--you should see his bruises) while searching for some missing DVDs on Sunday night.
 |
| Sunday night |
 |
| Tuesday night. |
Tuesday was our first day of school after the Christmas break. It was terribly long (some kids not turning in school work until 5 pm!) and achingly hard.
I3 threw up all morning.
 |
| He fell asleep in his chair because his bed was all taken apart so I could wash his bedding. |
H5 and A7 had fun doing their school, but the rest of the kids had the same blahs I had.
I was in tears at the dinner table--not a good way to end the school day.
I continue to have contractions off and on all day, but they go away every night. I'm walking around in a constant fog.
On Wednesday I woke up absolutely unable to face a full day of school. It's not that the kids make me work all that hard . . . so I'm not really sure why I couldn't face it, but there it was. I asked Dad if he could handle spending the morning at the art museum with us before he had to head to bed. He said yes. So we went.
It was a good morning.
After lunch, the older 4 did the bare minimum for their academics--personal scripture study, math, reading. Everyone was done by 2:30 pm so we did a walk-at-home video. I didn't want to get up and walk, but I want this baby born, so I walked.
Then kids did their own thing:
 |
| I3 did M12's hair while she read. H5 amused herself by giving "bunny ears" to everyone. |
 |
| E14 worked on making adjustments to the strapless (!) formal dress she bought. It has a long way to go before it passes as modest enough to wear. |
At least I didn't cry at dinner.
On Thursday we took a sick day--5 vomiting children.
 |
| This is A7 falling asleep during story time the night before the bug hit everyone. |
 |
| Poor sick kids! |
For that, I'm thankful for that sick day.
Something in my body shifted so that walking suddenly became excruciatingly painful. Walking was my one consolation, my one comfort, in this uncomfortable time. At least the kids needed me enough to distract me from my despair.
Whoops! Number 6, J11, was added to our stomach bug casualty list at 9:30 that night. S12 got a bucket and towel and laid them out next to her bed just in case . . .
Friday was a recovery day.
S12 is still symptom free. Isn't it funny how some people resist bugs and others don't?
Everyone watched 3 episodes of Signing Time this morning. The older ones pretend to not like it, but I've noticed that if it is on, they can't resist. I'm calling that school for the day--1.5 hours of foreign language.
Everyone is quiet--in need of lots of rest and calories after yesterday. I'm glad to see their appetites back, even if they are tentative. I've played Uno and Connect 4 with the little guys; the older ones are reading, reading, reading in bed. The sun is out, but the temperatures are low, and we're just doing what we need to do today.
I can walk again, but I'm having other strange excruciating pains that are not contractions. I'm weepy, exhausted, and just done. I'm also having very mild contractions, but they're staying irregular. I long for them to turn into real labor, but I'm afraid I'm in for an indefinite number of days of waiting. Though I'm not doing a very good job, I'm working hard at counting my blessings.
On Saturday some of the older girls are scheduled to go visiting some new members of their class at church. Otherwise we're simply doing chores and getting through another day of waiting. I'm trying to come up with a fun distraction that will help us (me!) find joy in the day. I think I'll check the weather forecast to see if it will be warm enough to bundle up and go for a winter hike.
Hang in there! Vomiting and the end of pregnancy blues are not a good combination. ((HUGS)) I think we get so miserable and cry so much because it helps us begin to look forward to labor. ;) Praying you have a peaceful weekend (or have a baby, I'm not particular. Sunday is Mason's birthday so it would be a good day...lol).
ReplyDeleteHey, I've been to that museum--with you guys! Cute, cute picture of you and the three littles. Fun to see E sewing! High five to S--hang tough! Love, love the pictures!
ReplyDeleteI'm so incredibly impressed with your week! Wow! We had ONE vomiting child a few weeks back, and I felt stretched - not five at once!
ReplyDeleteSo excited for your little one's arrival soon!! :)
Oh! I can't imagine the difficulty of starting school lessons back up and having so many ill all in the same week. Both require so much mental energy from Mom. Hats off to you for making it through the week! Hope all goes well until your baby is born!
ReplyDeleteOh, and have you written before about the back-to-school interviews? I really like the sound of this and would love to hear more about the concept and particulars!