I Got Sick and Beowulf Struggled

 Isn't that just like life?  As soon as I set a goal and work really hard to reach it, circumstances happen that get in the way of that goal.

Last Sunday night, Beowulf had a really bad breakdown.  

It was long and destructive.


This is just a little peek at some of the damage.

No one got to bed before 11 pm, and we still had some serious home repairs to do the next day.

So on Monday, I let everyone sleep in, canceled school, and focused on recovery.

Sir Walter Scott replaced drywall with 3/4" exterior grade plywood siding.  
This will be much harder to break through!

Nature Angel was pretty sick on Sunday, and Ladybug wasn't doing too well herself, so the quiet Monday was a really good thing anyway.

I felt a tickle in the back of my throat, but I wasn't sure if it was viral or mental/emotional, so I ignored it and took the kids on a good long nature walk on Tuesday.








By Tuesday night, I knew I was actually sick, so we stayed home on Wednesday, and I stayed in bed a lot thanks to the generosity of a now-recovered Nature Angel and a not-yet-sick Little Princess.

We were blessed to be squeezed in to our psychiatrist's schedule ASAP, and Beowulf is on an updated med regimen that is working very well.

Not only is he able to stay calm, he is able to stay focused and has better control over his body in general.  

He's happy.
We're happy.

What a blessing!!

I sent the kids on a long walk with Sir Walter Scott on Thursday morning because we had a late show, and I was marshaling my strength for the show.



I like the "backstage" chaos of everyone getting ready to go on.


The kids are getting better with each show, and this was our last show for the semester.  We'll resume in mid-January for a few review rehearsals before starting our schedule of a show every other week until the end of April.

When we got home, I crashed, and the kids read or played quietly until it was time to go to the youth activity at the church.  It was an all-youth Friendsgiving dinner and games.


Baymax and Lola hung out with Belle, eating chicken nuggets and watching a movie with her.

Big sisters are FUN!

It bothered me greatly to not hike on Friday, but I knew it would be bad for me, and by this time Lola had some cold symptoms, so it was another quiet day.

Everyone did 4 or 5 math lessons each over the course of the week.

The teens and I are still reading Huck Finn and The Old Man and the Sea.

Little Princess passed her PT test this week.  She has only one more test to pass to qualify for her promotion to 2nd lieutenant.

Mister Man used his birthday present this week.  He recently turned 13, and his Mom/Dad gift was a gift certificate to a climbing gym in the area.  We sent Little Princess to be his climbing partner as she has the most climbing experience in the family, and they had a blast.





On Saturday night, we were privileged to attend a violin recital by a few of our homeschool friends.  They are very young friends and quite advanced violinists!  It was a lovely hour of classical music.

The younger kids and I worked on memorizing the midwestern states and capitals, finished Paddle-to-the-Sea and studied the route on a map, continued reading Om-Kas-Toe and The Lewis and Clark Expedition, did a water-color painting, and did copywork.

You know it was a quiet week when Brother curled up under a blanket for read-aloud time during the school day!

Barring any emergencies, we're right on track to finish up before Thanksgiving and be ready to start Christmas school in a week.

Except I don't have anything actually ready for Christmas school!

I think I'm going to have a rather busy Friday/Saturday this holiday weekend!

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