A Week, Briefly (#23)

Monday was our getting ready for the week day:
Therapy for Brother
Morning meeting
A couple of hours of cleaning for the big girls and me (we haven't had a chance for a proper Saturday cleaning session in several weeks!)
A library run during which we returned 43 books but brought home 67 more!
A visit with JayBird that went very well
A date for Dad and Mom (we did a little run/walk and ran errands, but we did it alone, and the kids made and served dinner, so it counts as a date)
Evening reading as a family--we finished Pride and Prejudice on Sunday night, so we began Standing Lions (the kids are mad because they wanted me to read Emma next, but I'm purposely not reading it aloud to get them to read it on their own)

Tuesday was a productive day, but I ended up in a dreadful mood of gloom and despair that I really struggled with.  I know that my mood began with Rose Red's disrespectful behavior and unkind words, and it only got worse when I spent over an hour on the phone trying to get well-child visits scheduled for Ladybug, Brother and Little Brother.

(I hate being on the phone.)

I also remembered that I hadn't contacted our licensing worker about an update homestudy for us that our attorney requested last week, so worked on that as well (to no avail).

But we had a good morning meeting--we started paragraph 3 of The Family Proclamation.  We all groaned about putting song #2 away, but I promised to play it each Monday morning for our weekly review.

The older girls and I began our literature lessons on Little House in the Big Woods.  It is too easy a book for them, but it is so familiar and so loved that it is perfect for these introductory lessons on how to mark a book for theme, setting, plot, style, character, and vocabulary.  We read aloud together and marked the first chapter, especially focusing on setting, and then they were assigned to read the next 2 chapters independently, marking for setting, character, and theme.

I worked individually with Mister Man (phonics and picture study), Little Princess (grammar with nouns and verbs and reading Peter Rabbit), and Nature Angel (spelling rules, a fanciful story about life as a caterpillar, and poetry).

Ladybug finished her last computer lesson, and I am glad to see the back of that experiment!  I spent an hour in the evening prepping some face-to-face learning activities we can do together for the next few days.

Though it was very cold, the sun was strong, so I had the littles bundle up well and go outside for 45 minutes or so.  They were wired and in trouble over and over for jumping on furniture and yelling, so this outside play time was good, good, good.  When they came in I read some stories to them all.

The older girls headed out to the youth activity at the church--a talent show!  Rose Red and Pixie danced a clogging routine, Super Star sang Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing, and Belle recited a funny poem.  Nature Angel got to tag along to watch the show, and she was one happy girl at having that privilege.

Wednesday held not one outside the house item on the calendar--what a blessed relief!

But Baymax woke up with a fever that made it's way to nearly 105 degrees.  He did not feel good at all.

So we homeschooled the best we could in between rocking feverish Baymax and congested Little Sister.  We wiped Little Brother's nose a thousand times because he was getting sick, too.  We made it through all of our standard stuff:

*Morning Meeting
*LDS Family School--a lesson on plot
*Scriptures, Math, and Independent Study for the oldest 4
*The Good and the Beautiful--art lessons, grammar lessons, phonics, and spelling for the 3 using this program
*PreK--Ladybug and I worked on the sound of M and the sight words "I" and "see."
*Lots of disciplinary issues all day long:  Ladybug is still recovering from last week's PCIT debacle, field trip, and dance performance.  She has not regressed back to square 1, but she's certainly acting out in ways we hadn't seen in over a month.  Little Sister is beginning to deliberately disobey.  She's a baby, so it's not too distressing, but it is clear that she knows what she's doing when she ignores our "no."  The boys have too much energy to play indoors.  I'm thankful for the mild winter we're having, and I keep bundling them up and sending them outside for at least an hour every day.  Waiting for it to warm up enough to do so is a challenge.

Pixie is still working on her manicure skills--here's one in honor of Valentine's Day that she used actual newsprint to accomplish.

And here's the beautiful hair style she did for Belle for church on Valentine's Day.  She also did heart hair styles for Nature Angel and Little Princess.

A whole bunch of art history and art appreciation books came through at the library, so instead of our usual evening reading we enjoyed Michaelangelo by Diane Stanley. 

Thursday was when the illnesses really hit.  Several more kids woke up with coughs and drippy noses, and Baymax's fever eventually crossed the 105 mark.  We skipped dance practice and limped our way through school.

Nature Angel's sketch of a racoon washing his food in a stream--inspired by a library book, The Raft

Little Princess's school included a watercolor study.

Nature Angel has begun making mineral notecards.  This is not an assignment from me--totally self-directed learning!

She's been studying minerals with her book and her mineral kit that she got for Christmas.

Making potholders has been all the rage this week.  Here's Ladybug with her potholder.  It was a satisfying and therapeutic project for her.

 I ended up in urgent care that night with Little Sister because when she got lifted from the bathtub, she slipped a bit in Pixie's arms and her elbow was pulled.

Nursemaid's elbow.

But the doctor there was in too much of a hurry to "treat and street," so he didn't do a thorough job.  Little Sister still clearly hurt all that night and into the next morning. 

Friday morning found me on the phone with the nurse advice line.  My instructions were to get both babies to the ER as soon as possible.  But I knew Baymax had a virus, was hydrated, and was uncomfortable but okay. 

I didn't take him.

But I did take Little Sister.  The docs at the ER were thorough and watchful.  They finished reducing Little Sister's arm, and she's as good as new now.

While Little Sister and I waited, our attorney called to say that with our permission he was ready to file for adoption.  I gave him a hearty, "Yes!"

While I was gone, the older girls managed our morning routine and helped the littles make their valentines for our family celebration.  I called off school in favor of giving time for everyone to make valentines and to recover from feeling crummy.

Everyone--from Mom and Dad to the babies--makes a personal valentine for each family member.  Here's little sister getting help from me.

We got bored of Standing Lions, so we put it aside in favor of trying The Winged Girl of Knossos.  So far, it's more interesting as a read aloud.

 Baymax's fever finally left, and cold symptoms set in.  Poor fellow!  He hasn't had a good night's sleep in at least a week.  We're starting this week in the hole energy-wise . . . all of us!