A Week, Briefly (10/1/18)
Last week ended in a mental/emotional breakdown for me.
Sparing all of the gory details, I will simply say that I am grateful for a priesthood blessing and the support of many kind women at church who saw my fragile state and responded with love and encouragement.
And I'm grateful for my parents who heard my plea and helped stave off the breakdown by spending several hours with my kids on Saturday. I honestly thought I was okay when they left for the evening.
But I wasn't.
I'm better now.
For now.
And I'm searching for long-term solutions.
Monday
I canceled school for the morning and took Brother to the walk-in pediatric mental health clinic for an intake meeting.
It was frustrating because no matter how many times I told the intake specialist I wanted a developmental and behavioral assessment and that I did not want therapy for Brother, and even though I explained that we had a therapist and had discontinued therapy and explained why we discontinued it, she actually wrote on the intake form, "Mother is requesting therapy for the client at this time."
Ugh.
But if it gets us an appointment with the psychiatrist and gets us an assessment and some official letters after Brother's name to help us be eligible for services, then fine.
Rather than try to pick up pieces of a broken school day I took the elementary 8 on a half day trip to a new natural playground. We didn't do any nature study, but we climbed and walked and played and imagined and problem solved and had a (mostly) lovely afternoon.
We finished up the 4th Incorrigibles audiobook, and we're still waiting on number 5, so we started Five Children and It.
That book never gets old!
Then Sir Walter Scott took 7 of the elementary 8 to a local high school football game to see a church friend (or two) play while I checked planners, checked assignments, offered one-on-one tutoring and encouragement to the older girls. And I made dinner and cleaned and had a little bit of quiet computer time, too.
Tuesday
Co-op! I held my breath because last week was dreadful, and even though for the second week in a row the Storytime teacher stole my thunder by doing the same activity I had planned and told her about in advance (but it really was an accident--she wasn't feeling well and truly did forget what I'd said), and the yoga teacher cancelled class (but we missed the message) the day went better than it did last week.
And I had enough variation on the grain sensory bins that the kids had a great time in spite of the activity overlap.
I saw that many of our Cupboard Crafts students were absent, and I was tempted to just skip it and head for an extra hour on the playground, but then some showed up for the afternoon session, so we went ahead and crafted our hearts out.
It was messy, gluey, mosaicky kind of crafting, and the kids were happy.
Super Star had a babysitting job in the evening, and Pixie and I spent a looooong time going over math problems for the ACT.
Wednesday
After a morning of regular school at our house, we had too many places to be simultaneously and not enough cars or drivers to do it all, but we made it work!
*Super Star had a job interview at Subway (but the hiring manager forgot about it, so it didn't happen, even though Super Star was on time and prepared).
*Belle had to be taken to and picked up from the farm.
*Ladybug and I had our second group session at MOCSA.
*Pixie had her community college class and dance.
*Super Star and Sir Walter Scott had dentist appointments.
*Someone had to either watch or take the elementary 8 with them!
Then the evening was devoted to church activities. I'm down to only 5 children (ages 3-6) at home on alternating Wednesday nights!
Ladybug's one-on-one helper is marvelous, and all went well at her first Activity Day. I am more grateful than I can say to this wonderful woman who has agreed to devote herself to Ladybug 2 nights a month.
Brother enjoyed 20 minutes of one-on-one time with me doing some school activities just before bedtime.
Thursday
We had Symposium but not Academy in the morning because I had to work on costumes and props for our dance group. Nature Angel and Little Princess joined me in the gluey mess of decoupaging/papier mache-ing the edges of a bunch of cardboard sunshine props in order to clean up the rough cut edges and help make them more durable for use by a baker's dozen of 3-6 year olds.
Then we danced!
And the oven repair guy came while I was gone because our electric oven short-circuted and would not shut off. It's a built-in, so I couldn't just unplug it. I did flip the circuit breaker (per the advice of the repair company), so that it would cool and rest while we waited for a repairman. There were lots of little stresses in dealing with all of it--and even though I reminded myself, "This is a first world problem" over and over again, it was a challenge!
Fortunately Rose Red and Super Star were home to let the repairman into the house, and also fortunately he was able to call me and take my credit card information over the phone because I forgot to arrange for payment ahead of time.
I am grateful to have a working oven and microwave (on the same circuit breaker switch) with only half a day's inconvenience.
In the evening, Super Star and I had a math tutoring session--improper fractions and decimals.
And Rose Red's drama for the week came to a head. It would be inappropriate to share the details, so I will only say that Sir Walter Scott had a completely sleepless night waiting around the ER for no good reason other than that Rose Red refuses to accept any counsel from us.
She's perfectly fine.
There was no actual emergency.
Friday
Sir Walter Scott called in to work and got some sleep.
How grateful I am for sick day benefits!
The rest of us had a full day of school.
Symposium was all tests! I don't know how it worked out that way, but there it was. The girls all scored A's on their language arts Unit Checks; Pixie and Belle scored significantly higher on their second attempts at their second Spanish quiz (Super Star will need some private tutoring); and we did our first quarter history test as a group--with the girls shouting out answers and making jokes about who is best and who is worst the whole while.
So it wasn't all bad.
Pixie took her second practice ACT and improved her overall score by 3 points!!! We're starting to be encouraged.
Academy included poetry, literature, science, form drawing, and both American and World History lessons. Baymax had a full scale tantrum, but Sir Walter Scott was awake by then, and he took Baymax off for some daddy-son time that seemed to mend whatever wasn't working.
The teens made last-minute plans for a movie-and-snacks night at a friend's house, so they were all-a-flurry to get their schoolwork and chores signed off so they could go out. Belle only made it because several sisters banded together to help her fold the laundry that she hadn't touched once during the week (making it hard on those who needed clean socks or underwear for the past couple of days).
We're still trying to get Super Star set up properly to access all of the components of the One Year Adventure Novel program we bought for her. She's been working hard at what we have, but there are missing pieces that have been more than just a little bit of a challenge. The company is quick to respond to requests for information, but the answers we get don't always work.
We spent over an hour trouble-shooting this program late Friday afternoon.
Suddenly it was 6:20 pm, and I hadn't even started dinner. We'd had a hearty late lunch, so this wasn't much of a problem, but I didn't have any quick dinners left on hand, and the chicken that I started to put in the crock pot in the morning but didn't was still sitting raw and half thawed on the kitchen counter (oh, yuck!).
This is not normal behavior on my part!
I'm very good at feeding my family.
Sir Walter Scott was easy-going about it and ate his peanut butter sandwich, carrots, and chips at 7:15 pm with a smile and, "How can I help you?" on his lips.
He helped me shower half a dozen very dirty children (they'd spent much of the day in the sand pit), and we worked together to tuck in our Elementary 8.
Saturday
This weekend is General Conference.
I'm very happy about it.
It won't be a very easy day because my friend's brother died, and I'm providing dinner for her and her extended family tonight, but I'm glad to be able to help in my small way.
We're also still babysitting our usual 2 extra guests today, but they will probably sit quietly for snacks, and I'll have Legos available in one of the bedrooms for small wiggly people once the snacks lose their appeal.
10 solid hours of spiritual nourishment! That's an awesome weekend ahead!
Post Edit: I didn't hit "publish" all day because I was busy cooking and babysitting and watching conference, but in the evening, Rose Red surprised us by getting dressed up and hopping in the car to join us for the General Women's Broadcast!
So I got a friend to take a picture of me with 7 of my 8 daughters.
By the time Lola is old enough to attend these meetings, my oldest 4 will be adults and very likely out of our home, so this is probably the most daughters I'll ever have together at a General Women's Broadcast.
Sparing all of the gory details, I will simply say that I am grateful for a priesthood blessing and the support of many kind women at church who saw my fragile state and responded with love and encouragement.
And I'm grateful for my parents who heard my plea and helped stave off the breakdown by spending several hours with my kids on Saturday. I honestly thought I was okay when they left for the evening.
But I wasn't.
I'm better now.
For now.
And I'm searching for long-term solutions.
 |
| Cleaning toilets is not his assigned chore, but he follows Pixie around and begs for a turn when she does it. She sent me this photo, and it melts my heart. |
Monday
I canceled school for the morning and took Brother to the walk-in pediatric mental health clinic for an intake meeting.
 |
| Brother played dominoes during our long wait to be seen. |
It was frustrating because no matter how many times I told the intake specialist I wanted a developmental and behavioral assessment and that I did not want therapy for Brother, and even though I explained that we had a therapist and had discontinued therapy and explained why we discontinued it, she actually wrote on the intake form, "Mother is requesting therapy for the client at this time."
Ugh.
But if it gets us an appointment with the psychiatrist and gets us an assessment and some official letters after Brother's name to help us be eligible for services, then fine.
Rather than try to pick up pieces of a broken school day I took the elementary 8 on a half day trip to a new natural playground. We didn't do any nature study, but we climbed and walked and played and imagined and problem solved and had a (mostly) lovely afternoon.
We finished up the 4th Incorrigibles audiobook, and we're still waiting on number 5, so we started Five Children and It.
That book never gets old!
Then Sir Walter Scott took 7 of the elementary 8 to a local high school football game to see a church friend (or two) play while I checked planners, checked assignments, offered one-on-one tutoring and encouragement to the older girls. And I made dinner and cleaned and had a little bit of quiet computer time, too.
Tuesday
Co-op! I held my breath because last week was dreadful, and even though for the second week in a row the Storytime teacher stole my thunder by doing the same activity I had planned and told her about in advance (but it really was an accident--she wasn't feeling well and truly did forget what I'd said), and the yoga teacher cancelled class (but we missed the message) the day went better than it did last week.
And I had enough variation on the grain sensory bins that the kids had a great time in spite of the activity overlap.
 |
| This is most of my sensory bin class. We played with rainbow rice and then filled bottles with the rice and tiny treasures to make "I Spy" bottles. |
I saw that many of our Cupboard Crafts students were absent, and I was tempted to just skip it and head for an extra hour on the playground, but then some showed up for the afternoon session, so we went ahead and crafted our hearts out.
It was messy, gluey, mosaicky kind of crafting, and the kids were happy.
 |
| This precious baby is the great-niece and foster-daughter of the dear lady on the left of the photo. The baby is not quite 3 weeks old, and Pixie and I both cried when we were allowed the privilege of holding her for a few minutes. |
Super Star had a babysitting job in the evening, and Pixie and I spent a looooong time going over math problems for the ACT.
Wednesday
 |
| Beowulf loved, loved, loved his math lesson for the day! |
After a morning of regular school at our house, we had too many places to be simultaneously and not enough cars or drivers to do it all, but we made it work!
*Super Star had a job interview at Subway (but the hiring manager forgot about it, so it didn't happen, even though Super Star was on time and prepared).
*Belle had to be taken to and picked up from the farm.
*Ladybug and I had our second group session at MOCSA.
*Pixie had her community college class and dance.
*Super Star and Sir Walter Scott had dentist appointments.
*Someone had to either watch or take the elementary 8 with them!
 |
| The teens gave their Powerpoint presentations on the Hudson River School (an American art movement). |
 |
| And they studied hard for their Friday Spanish quiz. |
Then the evening was devoted to church activities. I'm down to only 5 children (ages 3-6) at home on alternating Wednesday nights!
Ladybug's one-on-one helper is marvelous, and all went well at her first Activity Day. I am more grateful than I can say to this wonderful woman who has agreed to devote herself to Ladybug 2 nights a month.
Brother enjoyed 20 minutes of one-on-one time with me doing some school activities just before bedtime.
Thursday
We had Symposium but not Academy in the morning because I had to work on costumes and props for our dance group. Nature Angel and Little Princess joined me in the gluey mess of decoupaging/papier mache-ing the edges of a bunch of cardboard sunshine props in order to clean up the rough cut edges and help make them more durable for use by a baker's dozen of 3-6 year olds.
Then we danced!
And the oven repair guy came while I was gone because our electric oven short-circuted and would not shut off. It's a built-in, so I couldn't just unplug it. I did flip the circuit breaker (per the advice of the repair company), so that it would cool and rest while we waited for a repairman. There were lots of little stresses in dealing with all of it--and even though I reminded myself, "This is a first world problem" over and over again, it was a challenge!
Fortunately Rose Red and Super Star were home to let the repairman into the house, and also fortunately he was able to call me and take my credit card information over the phone because I forgot to arrange for payment ahead of time.
I am grateful to have a working oven and microwave (on the same circuit breaker switch) with only half a day's inconvenience.
In the evening, Super Star and I had a math tutoring session--improper fractions and decimals.
And Rose Red's drama for the week came to a head. It would be inappropriate to share the details, so I will only say that Sir Walter Scott had a completely sleepless night waiting around the ER for no good reason other than that Rose Red refuses to accept any counsel from us.
She's perfectly fine.
There was no actual emergency.
Friday
Sir Walter Scott called in to work and got some sleep.
How grateful I am for sick day benefits!
The rest of us had a full day of school.
Symposium was all tests! I don't know how it worked out that way, but there it was. The girls all scored A's on their language arts Unit Checks; Pixie and Belle scored significantly higher on their second attempts at their second Spanish quiz (Super Star will need some private tutoring); and we did our first quarter history test as a group--with the girls shouting out answers and making jokes about who is best and who is worst the whole while.
So it wasn't all bad.
Pixie took her second practice ACT and improved her overall score by 3 points!!! We're starting to be encouraged.
Academy included poetry, literature, science, form drawing, and both American and World History lessons. Baymax had a full scale tantrum, but Sir Walter Scott was awake by then, and he took Baymax off for some daddy-son time that seemed to mend whatever wasn't working.
The teens made last-minute plans for a movie-and-snacks night at a friend's house, so they were all-a-flurry to get their schoolwork and chores signed off so they could go out. Belle only made it because several sisters banded together to help her fold the laundry that she hadn't touched once during the week (making it hard on those who needed clean socks or underwear for the past couple of days).
We're still trying to get Super Star set up properly to access all of the components of the One Year Adventure Novel program we bought for her. She's been working hard at what we have, but there are missing pieces that have been more than just a little bit of a challenge. The company is quick to respond to requests for information, but the answers we get don't always work.
We spent over an hour trouble-shooting this program late Friday afternoon.
Suddenly it was 6:20 pm, and I hadn't even started dinner. We'd had a hearty late lunch, so this wasn't much of a problem, but I didn't have any quick dinners left on hand, and the chicken that I started to put in the crock pot in the morning but didn't was still sitting raw and half thawed on the kitchen counter (oh, yuck!).
This is not normal behavior on my part!
I'm very good at feeding my family.
Sir Walter Scott was easy-going about it and ate his peanut butter sandwich, carrots, and chips at 7:15 pm with a smile and, "How can I help you?" on his lips.
He helped me shower half a dozen very dirty children (they'd spent much of the day in the sand pit), and we worked together to tuck in our Elementary 8.
Saturday
This weekend is General Conference.
I'm very happy about it.
It won't be a very easy day because my friend's brother died, and I'm providing dinner for her and her extended family tonight, but I'm glad to be able to help in my small way.
We're also still babysitting our usual 2 extra guests today, but they will probably sit quietly for snacks, and I'll have Legos available in one of the bedrooms for small wiggly people once the snacks lose their appeal.
10 solid hours of spiritual nourishment! That's an awesome weekend ahead!
Post Edit: I didn't hit "publish" all day because I was busy cooking and babysitting and watching conference, but in the evening, Rose Red surprised us by getting dressed up and hopping in the car to join us for the General Women's Broadcast!
So I got a friend to take a picture of me with 7 of my 8 daughters.
By the time Lola is old enough to attend these meetings, my oldest 4 will be adults and very likely out of our home, so this is probably the most daughters I'll ever have together at a General Women's Broadcast.
Rose Red looks very sweet in that picture.
ReplyDeleteWow! What a week. There is so much good in this post. That is because you are an exceptional mother. I am so glad you have some family, church and friends stepping forward to help you. So thankful for the one-on-one twice a month. I wish it was more. You really do need more support. I absolutely love the natural playground and the toilet cleaning. My little guys loved doing that too. The charm has worn off ~ lol. You and your loved ones are always in my prayers.
ReplyDeleteBlessings, Dawn
Just want to tell you, that you are not alone... in having breakdowns. I cried non stop for two days last week... And I have sooo much less kids, than you do. You look so great on the picture with your girls. And so do they. P.S. Wasn't the women's session absolutely nurturing for us stay at home moms? I loved every word in the talks of the prophet and his counselors.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely photo of you and most of your daughters! I love the natural playground, what an awesome idea and place to explore. I completely relate to the oven issue and am so glad you were able to get it resolved. One week without one reminded me how much I use it! In discussing the upcoming ACT with my son and reminding him about the practice test book that is in his school crate, he told me he thinks hes good and doesn't need any practice. Sigh...
ReplyDeleteI am praying you find your long term solutions.
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ReplyDelete