A Week, Briefly (11/19/18)
The week began with such a dreadful downward dip in coping skills for me that I was genuinely scared I wasn't going to make it.
But I did.
And I am better now than I was then.
I am thankful for teens who stepped in and helped.
I am thankful for Nature Angel who left me chocolate, a felt squirrel, and a love note in a hand-crocheted bag under my pillow.
I am thankful for Sir Walter Scott who took the kids on endless outings to get them into the sunshine, keep their bodies and minds active, and give me white space.
I am thankful for hourly--or minute-by-minute--prayer and daily scripture study.
I am thankful for habits and routines so deeply ingrained that we function even when I am not functioning.
I am thankful to have survived this week and to find that there might be sunshine in my soul again.
We did more school than I anticipated.
*Ladybug got 5 full mornings of one-on-one time with me.
*The teens and I read a couple hundred pages of The Grapes of Wrath; we will finish in time for our book club meeting next week!
*Somewhere I read/heard that checking off boxes on to-do lists actually increases serotonin levels in our brains, and something clicked in my head that this is exactly what Mister Man needed. I made him a check off list of school to do each day, and he LOVES it. I only gave him 2 days of work this week, and it works! I'll be printing a list for the week ahead sometime this weekend.
*We had 6 Morning Meetings.
*We worked on President Nelson's Book of Mormon challenge 5 days this week.
*We had two Academies.
*The young ones made strawberry freezer jam and stuffing and mashed potatoes.
*I ordered and received Rod and Staff arithmetic workbooks for Ladybug--a review of Grade 1. She's happily flying through all of the counting/number writing pages, and I'm reviewing the earliest and most basic addition facts with her. This is a good thing.
*I also ordered a bunch of phonics readers and spelling workbooks for Ladybug. She reads completely by context, but she's getting over her head, and she simply can't figure out most of the content of what she tries to read. We're backing up and working on CVC/CVCC/CCVC spelling skills and long vowel reading skills.
*The 3 preschoolers did 2 days of letter/circle/color crafts and activities.
*We celebrated Thanksgiving a day ahead of schedule because Sir Walter Scott was scheduled to work Thanksgiving Day, but then his shift was cut so he was home on Thanksgiving after all. :)
* Pixie and I finished her college application essay and paid the application fee, so now all she has to do is finish her final ecclesiastical endorsement, and she's really and truly applied to college!
*We also began our major birthday season--6 of them in the next 9 weeks. We made up for our quiet Thanksgiving by having family over for birthday fun on Friday.
*Pixie and I spent every spare minute working on her 5 geography essays that are due next week. She's had to write essays about the continuing effects of communism in former soviet countries and describe the history of Russia from ancient times to today . . . no problem, right?!?!?! Only two essays to go . . .
*I got at least 90% of our Advent school planning done. Though it seems that Advent shouldn't officially start until next week because there are 5 Sundays between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year, I didn't realize that until I was knee deep in my planning, and I decided to just allow for an extra week. We'll light all 4 candles (again) and do our family nativity on the 5th Sunday, and enjoy the season.
I hope.
I truly hope we have peace and joy in this season.
I hope you all do, too.
But I did.
And I am better now than I was then.
I am thankful for teens who stepped in and helped.
I am thankful for Nature Angel who left me chocolate, a felt squirrel, and a love note in a hand-crocheted bag under my pillow.
I am thankful for Sir Walter Scott who took the kids on endless outings to get them into the sunshine, keep their bodies and minds active, and give me white space.
I am thankful for hourly--or minute-by-minute--prayer and daily scripture study.
I am thankful for habits and routines so deeply ingrained that we function even when I am not functioning.
I am thankful to have survived this week and to find that there might be sunshine in my soul again.
We did more school than I anticipated.
*Ladybug got 5 full mornings of one-on-one time with me.
*The teens and I read a couple hundred pages of The Grapes of Wrath; we will finish in time for our book club meeting next week!
*Somewhere I read/heard that checking off boxes on to-do lists actually increases serotonin levels in our brains, and something clicked in my head that this is exactly what Mister Man needed. I made him a check off list of school to do each day, and he LOVES it. I only gave him 2 days of work this week, and it works! I'll be printing a list for the week ahead sometime this weekend.
*We had 6 Morning Meetings.
*We worked on President Nelson's Book of Mormon challenge 5 days this week.
*We had two Academies.
*The young ones made strawberry freezer jam and stuffing and mashed potatoes.
*I ordered and received Rod and Staff arithmetic workbooks for Ladybug--a review of Grade 1. She's happily flying through all of the counting/number writing pages, and I'm reviewing the earliest and most basic addition facts with her. This is a good thing.
*I also ordered a bunch of phonics readers and spelling workbooks for Ladybug. She reads completely by context, but she's getting over her head, and she simply can't figure out most of the content of what she tries to read. We're backing up and working on CVC/CVCC/CCVC spelling skills and long vowel reading skills.
*The 3 preschoolers did 2 days of letter/circle/color crafts and activities.
*We celebrated Thanksgiving a day ahead of schedule because Sir Walter Scott was scheduled to work Thanksgiving Day, but then his shift was cut so he was home on Thanksgiving after all. :)
* Pixie and I finished her college application essay and paid the application fee, so now all she has to do is finish her final ecclesiastical endorsement, and she's really and truly applied to college!
*We also began our major birthday season--6 of them in the next 9 weeks. We made up for our quiet Thanksgiving by having family over for birthday fun on Friday.
*Pixie and I spent every spare minute working on her 5 geography essays that are due next week. She's had to write essays about the continuing effects of communism in former soviet countries and describe the history of Russia from ancient times to today . . . no problem, right?!?!?! Only two essays to go . . .
*I got at least 90% of our Advent school planning done. Though it seems that Advent shouldn't officially start until next week because there are 5 Sundays between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year, I didn't realize that until I was knee deep in my planning, and I decided to just allow for an extra week. We'll light all 4 candles (again) and do our family nativity on the 5th Sunday, and enjoy the season.
I hope.
I truly hope we have peace and joy in this season.
I hope you all do, too.
I am so thankful you have teens to help you in your most exhausting times. I so get what you are going through. I remember living on autopilot and being thankful for ingrained routines. They are such a blessing. I love the little craft turkeys. They are adorable. I do pray that you and yours have a lovely and peaceful advent season.
ReplyDeleteBlessings, Dawn
Just curious, do you have someone you can talk to on a regular basis? Trust me, I know blogging can be therapeutic. Husbands can be helpful, so can clergy. But are you in any kind of official therapy? I know you often nature walk with the kids. Do you ever get the chance to do so alone?
ReplyDeleteI’ve never read The Grapes of Wrath, but the title makes me picture a good fight with grapes, stomping, and the mess that would come with that.
I have the same problem with Krystal with reading. She’ll belt out words, but not comprehend. I don’t “quiz” her persay, I just kind of pretend that I missed something in the story and go, “What was that again?” It forces her to go back even further behind the point in the story that I asked about in order to answer my question. My daughter Annalise is 11 and reading adult (age) books with no problems.
So thankful for you that you have teens that can help and for routines! You got so much school accomplished! When we take off I find myself both thankful to not have to do it but also grumpy because the children kind of flounder around with no purpose. Your turkeys were so cute! I pray that you are having a better week!
ReplyDeleteSuper cute turkey craft! We did handprint turkeys to mail to Brianna. And we celebrated Thanksgiving over a week early because we had a visit from Sam, and my husband would be working Thanksgiving, too.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you were able to hit the reset button. I don't want to sound like a little old lady, but this season will pass quickly. I miss having little ones.