A Week, Briefly (In Which Lola Cries a Lot)

Sunday night.

On Monday the temperature crossed the 80 degree mark.

We got out the water table, and the littles had a fine afternoon.  I took zero pictures because I was inside writing a review.

We did get some pictures of Academy, though.  We worked on lesson 2 of Color My Conversation, a review product we're enjoying so much more than I thought we would.

Mister Man completed his first Snap Circuits original creation.  He made a propeller spin and a light bulb glow without following directions in the plan book.  He was quite proud, and so were his parents.  Sir Walter Scott says maybe he'll turn over all of the electrical work our house needs to Mister Man.

Ladybug and Lola were sick with high fevers, so I excused Ladybug from school, and Lola just rotated from Daddy's arms to my arms to big sisters' arms all day long.

Pixie had a job interview with Menchie's Frozen Yogurt.  Looks like she's hired starting some time next month!!!!

Otherwise we plowed through math and literature, geography and history, art appreciation and Spanish and tried to stay cool without turning on the A/C.

On Tuesday Lola cried all day.

Unless I was holding her.

And sometimes even then.

I did most of my usual work with her in my arms.

Her fever was dropping, so I knew she didn't need a trip to the doctor; she just felt yucky.  I tried to humor her as best I could, but sometimes I passed her off to a sister for fresh loves.

Ladybug was really sick, too.

No school for her.

The rest of us worked hard and happily.

In the afternoon Nature Angel and Little Princess did an ArtAchieve lesson.  I wasn't around to watch them as it was my errand running afternoon, but when I got home there were two awesome pictures that clearly demonstrate that the girls learned and applied the rule of thirds (what the lesson was about) in composing their projects.

Later, Nature Angel made her own original Snap Circuits project.  She also made a super-complicated one from the book.

Wish I had some pictures. 

It was library day.  I stood in a circle in the living room and simply turned, taking pictures as I went:

Pixie is driving more and more.  She won't have any problem getting her license next year.

Now, how do we get Rose Red to do the same?

Lola cried a lot.

Wednesday was an easygoing day.  The local schools are on spring break, so the girls friends are all free and want to hang out.  We did our usual morning work, but we skipped Symposium so that Pixie and Super Star could go to a party.

Lola and Ladybug are convalescing.

Little Princess finished Life of Fred: Kidneys.  She could not work the equations or do the large multiplication/division problems, but she watched and listened to me work them through, and now she can predict what I'm going to do next and help me along.  At one point she even took the pencil from me and did some of the work herself.

I guess I was writing too slowly for her. :)

Nature Angel finished reading and narrating Mathematicians Are People, Too.  She's not ready to write yet, so we're needing another math-ish book for her.  We don't have the second book in the series, so I guess I'd better go explore our bookshelves and/or check the library website.

Lola cried a lot.

Thursday hit me like a ton of bricks.  I was irritable and angry all day long.

Hormones?!?

Baymax had a dreadful fever all night long.  He was clingy, but not awful.  Just in need of loves and comfort.

A mass email went out from a local church leader about a service opportunity, and I told the older girls they could choose school or service for the morning.  Pixie, Super Star, and Belle chose service, so I drove them over and dropped them off to help a disabled member of our church congregation get packed and ready to move.  They only spent a couple of hours helping, but the woman they helped was reduced to tears when she thanked me for loaning my girls to her.  She was very, very thankful.

Then she gave Super Star a bike and me a carpet cleaner. 

Goodness, it's hard to help someone without being blessed in return!!

(Yes, she needed to get rid of them before moving, but it still blessed us tremendously!)

Ladybug refused to do school, but Little Princess asked me to do more and more until I had to cut her off and remind her there were others waiting for a turn.

Mister Man finished Life of Fred: Apples.  He's very proud and so excited to start Butterflies.

Brother and Ladybug are experiencing cyclical regression.  Our sweet 6 weeks through February and March are over, and now we're having monster tantrums, lying, toilet issues, and passive-aggressive behaviors again.

Blechhhh.

At least I know they'll end, and we'll swing back up in a month or so.

Now to just get through the rest of March and April.

I dropped the big girls off at dance (too many littles down with gross noses, fever, or nasty coughs to take the whole crew), came home to do dishes and deal with negative behaviors, and raced back to pick them up.

We ended the day with pizza and bedtime stories.

Lola cried a lot.

Friday dawned blue and pink and beautiful.  Eventually it rained, and we curled up inside with cool construction toys.   Otherwise we did our usual morning schoolwork--everybody except Rose Red who volunteered to cuddle Baymax while he had a terrible fever.

I took the older girls up to their book club meeting--To Kill a Mockingbird--but I couldn't stay because Sir Walter Scott was working, and I was in charge of the littles.

Lola cried a lot.  I've loved her, cuddled her, fed her, rocked her, helped her sleep, given her drinks, sung to her, bathed her, dressed her, wrapped her, and cared for her.

I don't know what's wrong.

But I hope she's better soon!!!

(linking here)