A Week, Briefly (11/23/20)

Photo credit:  The vast majority of the photos in this post were taken by Nature Angel.  If it is a good photo--it was her.

 

This week was about survival.

We needed enough routine to stay organized, and enough flexibility to handle the special occasions that ruled the week.

The holiday season is hard.

We had a birthday one day.  I had a long, long medical appointment one day.  We had Daddy gone to work most of the days.  We had our usual schedule with our RBT; we had an unusual schedule with our BCBS (ABA therapy staff members).  

Is my anxiety worse because the kids' anxiety is worse?

Or vice-versa?

We practiced gratitude every day!

 

And one thing to be grateful for was Super Star's first day at her new job!!!!!

 

She humored me with a proud-mom moment before she left for the day.

She loves her job!  It is so perfect for her, and she is so perfect for it.

 

She gets all of the grown-up benefits, and she's reveling in them!

 

("They're paying me for Thanksgiving, even though I'm not working!!!!!")

 

On Tuesday I looked at everyone and knew we couldn't do it.

We went on a hike.

But we got home in time for our RBT appointment.

It was gloomy, damp, and . . . wonderful!

The Munchkin got upset that the girls were upside down, so Nature Angel was turning to show she was fine.

With two babies to be carried, Nature Angel inherited a backpack full of smiles.

Little Mister Frog wasn't thrilled to be confined to a backpack until he got a little hands on time with nature.

His hands weren't as cold as his ears.

Little boys looking through a drainage pipe under the trail.

Lola felt sulky and walked alone for a while.

Nature Angel led the kids off on a side trail (Brother had a fit and had to stay back on the main trail with me) down to the lake.  It was breezy and beautiful.

Mugging for the camera.

Logs are for climbing.

Lola looks purely miserable here.  She put the branch in her coat, and she wore it that way for at least half of the hike.  I tried joking with her, holding her hand, singing silly songs about little girls who turn into trees, but she kept the same look on her face the whole time.  Oh, well.

Asleep . . . seconds before his head fell forward onto the back of my neck.

Hike #45 of 52:  Longview Lake Loop

100.91 miles + 2 = 102.91 miles

 

We got home just as the rain began falling in earnest, and we spent the rest of the day indoors doing school, reading, playing Legos, corralling babies, and doing dishes.

 

On Thanksgiving Day Sir Walter Scott took the youngest 6 to the park while the older girls helped me clean and cook.  I tried to simplify the day, really I did!  I succeeded in some ways but not in others.

It was worth the effort.

We went for a hike between our early dinner and our later pie.

 

A panoramic view of our van from Nature Angel's seat.

Full of energy at the start!

Belle and Theo, which is a lovely thing to see, but off to one side was a large buck, dead in the water.  We warned everyone to stay out of the water unless they went upstream of the decomposing animal!

That's Super Star's leg on the far right of the photo.  Funny thing, she went upstream a way, and then fell in the river!!!!  She was sopping wet from the waist down . . . and scratched and muddy, too.  We laughed so hard and said over and over again, "At least you were upstream from the dead deer!"

Climbing back up from the river to the main trail.

The sun shone in good earnest!

My crew looove bridges.  This one was covered in crazy graffiti about covid being fake and other hilarious political (mis)statements.

We stopped for a break at the end of the trail to climb trees, lie in the grass, and take pictures of one another.

For a little while we took an alternate route back.  We were right next to train tracks, and a train passed.  You can guess how my little boys felt about that!

 Hike #46 of 52:  Blue River Greenway

102.91 + 2.93 = 105.84 miles

We came home and ate pie until we couldn't eat any more, and then we got into our jammies and watched our first Christmas movie of the season . . . Barbie and the Nutcracker.

*sigh*

Not a classic.

But the kids liked it a lot.

After Thanksgiving, we had the privilege of meeting sweet friends who'd moved out of state.  We also had some time with my mom, just resting in one another's presence.

 

Then we took another hike.

 

I love a curve in the trail.

It was an out-and-back trail, so we got to go through the tunnel twice.  We made train noises, and some of us scuffed our feet in the leaves to get even better sound effects.

Hike #47 of 52:  Rock Island Trail

105.84 + 3.05 =  108.89 miles

I forgot to mention that we finished Aesop's Fables a week or two ago.  I started it as a literature experience, but it quickly turned into character training.  Many of the stories prompted great lessons and/or discussions.  It was a worth while read over the past 2 school years.

 

With Thanksgiving having past, we've starting The Jesus Storybook Bible.  Some kids were in tears before we even started reading, they were just so happy to get to hear the sweet message of this book again.

I admit to tearing up a bit myself as I read the introductory story on Friday morning.

I've begun giving Beowulf a magnesium supplement, and I see good results in his ability to calm his body.  He's by no means in appropriate control yet, but it's a relief for him and for all of us that he can navigate a few jobs of the day without flailing into chaos.

We have our Morning Meetings each day, chores, evening reading, reading at various meals.  We're doing school work whenever Mr. S--is over.  

Last year I could do nothing more than get up, follow our school routine, and try to keep everyone safe during the holidays.

This year I feel quite the opposite.  The routine beyond our anchoring basics, as listed above, feels both binding and threatening.

I feel like I'm going to explode and the whole house with me.

Nature Angel's second Christmas watercolor for the season.  (I need to get a picture of her first one!)

 

We hit the trail again on Saturday because the weather continued to be perfect and because I needed it.

 

(You see, we survived the week by hiking.)

This time it was an old favorite with lots of limestone for climbing and jumping and adventuring.

There was also a great deal of water play as we stepped off the trail to follow the course of the very low river.

 

Skipping rocks

Everyone was pleased with this splash.  Lots of rocks were chunked into the river.

Kids tested their balance and bravery.

 

 

 

We counted cars on this train--185 cars + 5 engines!

 

Hike #48 of 52:  Lakeside Nature Center, Fox Hollow Trail

108.89 miles + 2 = 110.89 miles

 

We're well when we're outside.

 

We struggle so much inside.  

 

We may have Advent school like we did a few years ago.  

 

I'm still researching my options.

And I've pulled all of our Christmas books from the shelves, ordered as many as I could from the library, and ordered a few to own . . . 

We may just hike our way through the season.

Exploding is simply not a healthy option. :)