A Week, Briefly (5/4/20)

I think it's safe to say that Nature Angel is progressing nicely at her flexibility-improvement-program!

I began this week with the intent of writing about each day as it happened. 

That only happened on Monday:

Monday
Can we have a do-over?

It was a rainy Monday all day long.

We limped through school.

We survived many tantrums.

Our bean germinating experiment is both a success and a failure in that all of the beans have germinated, but some of them are now moldy.

I melted down to tears over how badly my arms itched and burned from poison ivy.

But . . .

Nature Angel, Little Princess, and I also got the second coat of paint on the second wall of their bedroom, and Sir Walter Scott moved their bunk bed to the finished side of the room, so we can prep the unfinished side.

Sir Walter Scott also took the littles on a walk before dinner to get their wiggles out.

Most of the family liked the black bean/sweet potato burritos we had for dinner.

And Beowulf made us laugh at dinner (we must have really needed that laugh) when Pixie told a story that ended with a vehement, "No way!" and he chimed in with, "Jose!"

The rest of the week passed in an oddly exhausting blur of good, solid school days, painting, cleaning, gardening, reading aloud, and finishing school work.

All Nature Angel has left is Greek, Keyboarding, and Personal Scripture Study.  I promised her she could add Irish Gaelic on Duolingo once these core subjects were finished, and she's so excited! 

It almost killed her--not because it was too hard (it wasn't) but because she doesn't like it.  This week I asked Belle about college dreams and goals, and she told me.  We looked into making that happen, and it turns out that taking College Algebra at the community college in order to be done with math might not cut it.  I'm in the process of researching her options.

Ladybug finished her Literature studies.  She's quite a good reader as far as decoding goes, but comprehension is a challenge.  These little study guides have been a blessing for her.  I think we will continue with them in the future.

We had some rainy days, during which my heart felt happy as kids settled into study around the house.

These two either LOVE school or HATE it!  Here was a LOVING school day when they did page after page of math and reading copywork. 

Scripture study in English and Greek!

Arithmetic before breakfast!

Mister Man is unofficially Beowulf's reading tutor.  These two curl up together by the hour, and Mister Man helps Beowulf read.  It is a sweet, sweet relationship, and Beowulf is developing a true love for books and reading.

I have worried this week because I am anxious and foggy--like I was pre-depression med.  I cannot face an increase in this med because the level I am at is a careful balance between effectiveness and the side effect of desperate sleepiness.  However, I remembered that when my dad was undergoing a dreadful skin cancer treatment on his face earlier this year, my mom told me that his anxiety was really bad.  I've been dealing with wicked poison ivy, and while that's not life-threatening or truly painful, it is desperately uncomfortable, and I've had it in the past when I couldn't heal from it without medical intervention, so maybe that's why I feel anxious and foggy now.

Honestly, my arms and ear are healing well.  The rash is still spreading slightly, which means the healing time is growing longer, but I'm really not burning and itching like I was on Monday.

I hope this is all that is causing my little drop in joy.

Because my family is terrific. :)

I heard a little bit of music wafting from upstairs a bit earlier.  I couldn't make it out, but I do know the kids are preparing for a Mother's Day celebration tomorrow.  Pixie is running the show, so I know it's going to be good.

We planted the non-moldy beans we germinated indoors. 

And the frost we had this week didn't kill or damage our tomato plants.  Hooray!

We harvested our first lettuces and spinach from our garden and enjoyed them in a fresh salad.

We've also tasted tiny, ripe strawberries from our rather spindly plants.  I'm eager to purchase more and pinch them back for leafier, more productive plants next year.

We dissected a flower in order to study plant reproduction this week . . . unless that was last week.  Either way, we did dissect a flower.  For sure, this week, we talked about carnivorous plants and pollination.

Nature Angel, Little Princess, and I finished reading Joy Hakim's The Story of Science: Aristotle Leads the Way.  And our library opens up for curbside pickup in a week or so, so we can get the second book in this series soon!

(If I can find it . . . at the moment the library website claims it doesn't exist!)

The teens and I are nearly halfway through Plutarch's Lives.  Sometimes we actually enjoy it.  I can totally understand why Ambleside Online recommends reading only 3 Lives per school year for several years instead of the intense burst of effort we're giving to this classic.

Brother has several times this week voluntarily sought support for defusing his anger.  That's a big deal!  And even though he did have a bad moment when he picked up a brick and threatened Lola, he put it down and accepted an escort to a quiet place to calm down.  That's another big deal!

His ABA therapist is working on an anger management scale for him.  It's going to be good because he loves plans and numbers and charts and defined cause/effect relationships.  I am really excited to start working with it.

Little Princess, Nature Angel, and I finished painting their bedroom.  I'll get a picture or two once they get their furniture and belongings in order.

I've done massive amounts of planning and purchasing and sorting of curriculum supplies this week.  We're starting to be hemmed in by boxes of supplies we already own that I'm pulling from shelves, and deliveries will add to that in the next couple of weeks.  

Super Star has a new job as a receptionist at Sports Clips!  She's put in her two weeks' notice at Freddie's, and she starts orientation for her new job this very week.

We have plans for a graduation celebration with friends at a park in June for Super Star.  We won't have speakers or slide shows or Pomp and Circumstance, but we will have diplomas, pictures, refreshments, and adherence to social distancing regulations for our area . . . which means that all of our plans are tentative. :)

I'm exhausted.

My delightful parents are stopping by for a Mother's Day distance-visit, and then I think we'll have pancakes for an early supper, baths, a movie, and then go to bed.

Happy Mother's Day!!!