Sunday, May 27, 2018

Planning for the next School Year



There is something inherently exciting about looking forward to the next school year.  This past year was less than stellar, with so many ups and downs and interruptions.  I am SO glad to put it behind us and look forward in hope.

I am excited to peruse the new reading lists and fill out tentative lesson plans, excited to think about all that my kids could learn and explore and experience.  I just hope it's a little less adventurous than the year we just completed.

Guess what?  I have THREE green tomatoes on my tomato plant.  I am SO excited.  I cannot believe we are actually growing things.  My kids and I planted flowers and vegetables and a butterfly bush for the first time this year and we have had THE BEST time waking up every day and checking to see how things have grown.

*Update from our three weeks of craziness.  Our 14yo dog (pictured below) had to be rushed back to the vet two more times.  He is on some strong pain meds, muscle relaxers, and an anti-inflammatory - but still is in pain and is not eating or drinking much.  I am so sad because this is literally the sweetest dog - we rescued him from the pound twelve years ago and he has just been so sweet to our family.  Patient as my kids grew up and rolled all over him and dressed him up, patient as they squeezed too tight in hugs and steadfast as he was often times the last to get attention at the end of long days.  He is so laid back.  For the longest time, we were convinced he did not know how to bark, he was that quiet.


The thought that he is now hurting and there is little but time and meds we can give him, it makes me sad.  Animals are such a big part of our lives, they truly provide a therapy - a connection - that even the most highly trained professionals cannot foster.

Oh and my tooth was not infected, I had a sinus infection.  Once I started the antibiotic, I felt much, much better.  I am SO happy the past three weeks are over, looking forward to a calmer, peaceful, boring month of June.  ☺

Tuesday, May 22, 2018

Hard

The past three weeks have been hard.

It seems like for about a year or so now we have gone from one thing to another - seriously it is almost like a "grab your popcorn, the show's about to start". 

Three, I guess maybe four, weeks ago my kids came down with a sore throat.  The cold lingered but finally seemed to be going away.  Then my husband got a sinus infection and we (all five of us) just went downhill from there.  It culminated with TWO visits to the ER in the same night this past weekend.  I was sooooo exhausted I could barely function. Saturday afternoon when we laid down on our bed, our 14 yo dog went to jump up on the bed and screamed.  He then snapped if we got close to him.  So we jumped up and took him to the vet.  He has somehow hurt his knee and is limping/on pain meds (which we had to go back to the pharmacy again..the fifth time in two days).  Between breathing treatments, throwing up/stomach issues, blowing noses and coughing we have had very little sleep the past two weeks.

To top it off?  I woke up with a toothache this morning and then we had to call the gas company because we suspected a gas leak in our house. (thankfully it was not, but we still have no explanation for the very strong smell in our garage.  *sigh*) 

Did I mention we have been sick for the better part of three weeks now?  And that our house is a GIGANTIC mess?  I was so embarrassed when I had to let the gas guy in, I kept apologizing over and over.  He kept saying not to worry, it wasn't that bad.  Bless his heart.  He was nice.

To complicate matters my kids' underlying issues always get a LOT worse when they are sick, so basically, life is hard right now.

I am SO far done with everything. 

I cringe when someone asks 'how are you' because I want to cry and then my nose runs even more (it has run nonstop through this cold for like a week now). 

When I do attempt to honestly answer that question I watch one of two things happen - their eyes glaze over and they sort of look like, oh no, I really didn't mean for you to answer that question, I was just being polite, oh please someone make.her.stop.talking...or they take several steps backwards, almost afraid to get too close to us.  I can't say as though I blame them.

It has to get better, right?



Wednesday, May 9, 2018

This Morning

I was walking one of our doggies, glorying in the most beautiful of mornings - skies were gorgeous, birds were singing, a gentle breeze was blowing...


When all of a sudden a sharp sting in my foot made me look down and what did I see there?!?!  A wasp!  Hanging on to my foot for dear life.  I was NOT happy.  I'm terrified of having an allergic reaction to a wasp or bee sting.  So I freaked out (my dog looked at me like I was a looney tune).  *sigh*


Ironically we just studied wasps in science yesterday.  I think this one was a digger.  On a side note, see my toenails?  My youngest painted them yesterday while I was reading Little Women aloud.  😊


See the picture below?  We watched a silkworm/caterpillar (*not sure what it was) crawl back up it's piece of silk thread - it was balling it up as it went (can you see it?).  We stood under that tree for a long time, completely enchanted with that little guy.


I was not enchanted with the wasp though.


Sunday, May 6, 2018

Summer Plans

We homeschool year round here, but the summer schedule is lighter for us.  Most summers though we flounder and flop through with no definite plans, and since it gets reallllllly hot here, the summer seem to last fooooorever.  

ICK.  

Also, since my children have chronic health issues, it is next to impossible to make plans.  

I found that out the hard way.




In years past I've made these elaborate plans in the hopes that we would be able to do them, at least some of them.  But there is just something about my personality that doesn't accept that and move on.  It makes me sad to think of all that they are missing out on (even though the plans were just on paper and not definite plans).  So...since the summers my kids will still be considered kids seem to be blowing away in the wind much like a dandelion full of fluff, I decided to try something completely different...






I googled summer ideas yesterday and found a NEAT idea.  I made five columns (that fit us), Movie Mondays, Artful Tuesdays, Wonderful World Tuesday, Museums/Library Thursdays, and Fun Fridays.

Each morning I will have my kids peel back the post-it note for the day (I numbered the weeks - 11 is what I have planned for).  I planned simple things, that we should be able to do, even on the harder days.  Our themes for movies are old Disney, in order that they were made.  Art will consist of a mix of projects, crafts, and science experiments.  Wonderful world - we will be out and about exploring or playing in the water sprinklers, having water gun fights, or exploding water balloons.  Library and Museum...self-explanatory.  Fun Fridays will be the BEST because several times we will be meeting my husband at work for lunch!!  Yippee!!!!

What are your plans for the summer?!?!?