A Week, Briefly (The Washer Died)

Monday
Poor Mister Man spent the night and morning throwing up.  That derailed my plan to take the kids hiking, but it was just as well because the older girls and I been in desperate need to make progress in our MacBeth intensive before our review of a study guide is due, so while Mister Man napped between vomiting sessions, and the other kids played outside, the teens and I plowed through all of the activities for a full act of MacBeth.

I love Belle for sighing happily, "I just love Shakespeare," as we got started.

Nature Angel and Little Princess completed some math pages.

And Nature Angel has fairies on the brain.  She painted this . . . and a smaller copy.

Brother learned to ride a two-wheeler all by himself!

And our washing machine gave a last gasp and died in a cloud of foul-smelling smoke.   Sir Walter Scott just looked at it and said, "There's no point in even trying.  Let's go get a new one."

 So we did.

A really, really big washing machine that might cut our usual 25 loads a week down to 10-ish loads a week.

How cool is that!?!?!?

And, of course, the box the machine came in was a treat for days!

Rose Red had to work, but the rest of us had a lovely evening of reading aloud together.

Tuesday
We started with a mom-and-teen meeting about the realities of their school plans.  I invited the teens to spend 2 years finishing some of their coursework and spend the extra time working together and going on nature/science outings with the family.  I promised them credit for their work and expressed my concerns for their mental and physical health if they worked themselves to death.

Rose Red was all over that idea (she's not the one I'm worried about working too hard!). :)  Pixie looked worried but promised to think about it.  Super Star saw the possibilities of hands-on science and says she's in.  Belle seemed kind of sad and said, "I like working alone and daydreaming through the day."

Then I said she could take Theo with us on some of the outings, and she perked up . . . a little.

And who can blame her, when her school room looks like this?

I ended the meeting with nothing decided, but that was on purpose.  I want them to think a bit about what I presented to them.

Dentist appointments for Pixie and Brother resulted in an orthodontic referral for Pixie and an appointment to have 2 cavities filled in Brother's back molars.

Then Pixie went to work.

I ran to the library and folded half a dozen (of the old washer size) loads of laundry.

Nature Angel and Little Princess did math.

Looks like Baymax joined Little Princess at the table for math. :)

Little kids played outside.

Sir Walter Scott and I had our final meeting with Ladybug's and Brother's therapist.  I am grateful for her loving care for our family, and I am also grateful to close the door on weekly therapy appointments for a season.

It was a good meeting.

Little kids spent the afternoon in sand and water play (I'd just emptied out a couple of spice shakers recently, and they were perfect for a sand-pit bakery), and then it was time for dinner and youth activities at the church.

Nature Angel found a fairy castle building set in a catalog.  It is both beautiful and expensive.  As we have all of the supplies for making our own set, we invited her to do so.  She worked on cutting usable "logs."

And the day was suddenly done.

Wednesday
Belle handled things at home while I took my turn to go with the seminary students in our family.  She's doing a great job!

We had our brief Morning Meeting, and I announced that school will "officially start" next week.

The announcement was greeted with cheers from everyone 10 and under. :)

But then I told them that school would be different from last year . . . and Brother slumped in his chair, "I really, really, really liked my school."

I promised him he would feel the same this year.

The teens and I worked for a few more hours together on MacBeth--we found a bizarre 1970's version that was free (It starred Judi Dench and Ian McKellen), so Pixie, Super Star, and Belle watched the first two acts.   Then Pixie and I found an animated version we could stream via our library, and while it was quite abridged, it was actually accurate and approachable.  We may watch the whole thing later this week.

Pixie and I had a school interview . . . and I forgot my appointment with the dentist.  Next available appointment?  One month from now!!

The teens worked independently on various school assignments in the afternoon.

Little Princess is on Day 24 in her math book already!

Our littlest kids love to exercise with Pixie in the evenings.

Rose Red went to work, but the rest of us read together.  Jane's future is ever so murky right now.

Thursday
More of the same--MacBeth, outdoor play, math, reading, etc.

But Mister Man continues to sort of languish.  I'm starting to be worried about him.  Usually stomach bugs resolve themselves more easily than this one is.

We only have birthday parties for certain birthday milestones in our family, and this year is one of them--Little Princess is turning 8.  Her baptism is still over a month away, and her birthday is actually not right now, but this Saturday is the only free Saturday on the calendar for at least 5 weeks, so she sighed and agreed to take what she could.

It's going to be a fairy party.

Nature Angel made this sign that we nailed to a stake and to which we tied pink balloons to welcome our guests.

The kids will make their own flower fairy crowns, and they'll make little fairies of their own and gardens for the fairies to play in.  We'll have fairy treats and giggle and take lots of pictures.

We spent a lot of time on Thursday preparing for the party.

Funny Lola said, "I have a s'linter.  Get it, Mom.  No!  I do it myself!"  And she did. :)

And we had dance.

Sometimes it is very boring waiting for the older kids to finish practicing.

And we found a dinner to replace pizza night--cold cereal night!!!

It was going to be chili fries night, but I forgot to start the chili in the crock pot, and I remembered as I was checking out at the dollar store, but there wasn't time to get the chili started, and I was about to cry with frustration when Pixie said, "What about cold cereal?"

!!!!

Cold cereal is rather an expensive breakfast, but it is totally a cheap dinner.  We picked up gf cereal, almond milk, and fruit on sale, and we had a happy, happy dinner that the kids are delighted to accept as a new tradition.

And Jane Eyre has a whole new future spread out before her . . . it was an exciting night to be reading Jane's story.

Friday
The day passed in a whirl of birthday party preparations . . . and Act 4 of MacBeth.

Mister Man finally seemed to be picking up some energy and appetite, so I stopped worrying about him.

We didn't know this for sure on Friday, but now that it is actually over (because I'm finally finishing this post on Monday morning!), I can say that the party was a whomping success, even if it was totally exhausting.

I'm really glad that I don't have to throw any more parties until next year!



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