the other day isaiah asked if i had been blogging. he wanted to know when the 2012-2014 crazy crowfoot blog books would be published. all four of my littles had been cozied up on the couch, giggling, oohing and aahhing, and reading the "quotes of the day" out loud to each other. it had made me smile. so when i asked isaiah why he was so eager for the other editions to be printed out, he simply said, "because i love your stories."
a whirlwind summer is an understatement. i had thought about making a summer bucket list chart. that never happened because in between meeting our newest cousin, taking wagon rides in southern alberta with the grandparents, running a ragnar race with my husband and friends, basketball camps and picnics with friends and family, carnival rides,
a mini reunion with cousins and aunts/uncles at lake powell,
and of course, homeschool...
i just have not found the time.
all of this running to and fro has finally caught up with us, and we are taking a sick day, watching kung fu panda, delivering tylenol for fevers, ice packs for bruised arms, and hoping the puke bucket isn't filled.
it's been a thrilling summer, an exhausting time learning how to travel and parent on my own with sam stuck at work holding down the fort. it's not easy, and i commend all those who do it all. you are amazing.
just before i ran off to canada, i had a meltdown. the kids weren't listening and i was done with asking. sam came home, saw me in zombie-mode and figured he better have a chat with the perpetrators.
i overheard, whether or not i should have, this:
****
mom asks you to do a simple thing like helping her clean the house and you don't do it, why?
"because we wanted to play."
did you know she sacrificed everything for you? do you think she wanted to slave all day for kids who aren't grateful and don't help her out? she had dreams and she gave them all up for you; the least you can do is what she asks.
"mom had dreams??"
(shocking, i know)
****
about a minute later, i hear tiptoes down the hallway. then a whisper, "mom, what were your dreams?"
i was feeling pretty sensitive and emotional, and blubbered out, "i don't even know anymore."
i've been thinking about this throughout the entire summer. what do i like to do? what do i want to do? i like to write, and i love writing there blog posts - even if no one ever reads them, as long as my children enjoy them, and laugh out loud when they get to a funny part, or oogle about a picture saying, "ah! i remember this!" that's good enough for me.
there are several things i've narrowed my "dreams" down to. i've wanted to make these dreams a reality, but the reality of life is an amazing distraction.
am i sad that my crazy crowfoot crew and their needs take precedence over my craft?
do i resent having to homeschool and plan and prepare for lessons instead of writing and painting?
not at all. in fact, my number one dream was to be a kick-ass mom, otherwise, i don't think i'd spend as much time as i do on it. ha. the thing is, i wanted to make those sacrifices to bring babies into my world, even if that meant someday i'd be scrubbing dried snot off my walls. i think all of these life lessons and learning how to be a more giving and loving mother will most definitely help me on my way to fulfilling those other dreams.
at least, i hope so.
i think about the day when i won't be homeschooling any longer. it kinda makes me sad, and i'm not ready to give this time up with my kids just yet.
i've made some adjustments to our homeschooling schedule for this upcoming school year to accommodate my "dreams." because in between all the owies, the tears, the tantrums, the mundane tasks of housework or car maintenance or doctors appointments, i need something of my own to recharge and fill my bucket. and if that something just happens to be my own set of paints that i am not willing to share with my babies - then tough luck, babies. although, the giggles, the cuddles, the kisses, the pure enjoyment of living life and having adventures with my husband and my babies sure does more recharging than those watercolors ever could. ;)
not to mention…
this fabulous mobile library that we finally caught up to!
we have library cards, and it feels like christmas.
so, for those of you who have asked and are curious about what our day looks like, here ya go:
we get out of bed when we want to - usually around 7-7:30am. i workout at 7 to get all those feel-good endorphins i so badly need.
sam leaves for work at 8am, while the rest of us have breakfast.
after getting dressed for the day, we engage in our morning yoga around 9:30, followed by scripture study.
at about 10 or 10:30, we begin our language arts activities.
here, we are working with the grammar boxes.
they really love manipulating things, so these hands on cards are a great resource.
we have math around 11 or 11:30. i don't have a picture handy, but we've been using golden bead rods which are the best ever.
noon, we have lunch.
after lunch, we have our science lesson, which is our plant unit right now. in a couple weeks we'll be moving on to space exploration…because that's what they want to learn about.
around 2, we have chores, and as soon as they are done, it's free time for the rest of the day.
our day is dotted with walks as well, whenever the kids start feeling restless, it's a good time to step outside.
we only have school 4 days a week…wednesday being our free day. the times we aren't out grocery shopping (which is an all day affair), we have artist or author spotlights. and basically, just art day.
so far, my plan is to homeschool year round, 6 weeks at a time, with 2 week breaks, and one big chunk of winter break (december/january). during this huge break we'll be focusing solely on music - piano, guitar, whatever they want.
sam was skeptic about my "hippy school," so i bought several workbooks and a homeschool planner to appease his fears of having unintelligent, weird homeschool kids.
anyway, i know i've been out of the loop for quite some time. i had to be. so, my dear friends and family, in the midst of dirty diapers, long road trips, and temporary single parenting, i never meant to neglect you. and a huge thank you to everyone who has hosted us this summer, and helped me to feel not so insane.
i guess its time to order that 2011 blog book and catch up on the rest of the years…since it is a sick day.
***
today i am grateful for:
*no puking kids thus far.
*tyelenol for the babies (and the ZzzQuil i took last night, man i needed that sleep)
*movie days and toast
the end.
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