Pages

Thursday, May 8, 2014

Uh…to[o] hard..P.S. I mean It!

i mean it

The last two weeks of April were a bear! Good stuff, but golly! This is more than you ever wanted to know…

We celebrated Easter and then turned around the following morning to head out for outdoor school with the boys for three days. (The above picture is of the worksheet the boys were asked to complete prior to outdoor school. Leif apparently decided it was above his grade level. Ha! That kid cracks me up. He has a ton of personality.) I picked Lola up from my parents’ house when we returned home on Wednesday, and she was feverish and not well at all.

Thursday Russ called and asked if I wanted to drive the family down (45 minutes south) for “bring your kids to work” day at his office. All four kids and I toured his office building for a little while that afternoon, then Russ took the boys to swim practice and I went shopping in Eugene with Lola.

Friday I decided I didn’t have enough on my plate (or had so much that I needed to be fueling my body well) and started a round of “paleo-ish.” (I’m now finishing day 13.) I should also mention that for the past eight weeks—ever since my Energy Begets Energy post—I’ve been consistently working out about two times each week. It isn’t as frequent as I’d like, but it is a tremendous step in the right direction. Friday is also the day we had to finish our writing work samples and get them mailed, without an hour to spare. (And swim practice.)

Leif activities 

Saturday I was up early to help Russ and boys get ready for a morning swim meet. Then I had an online meeting. Then Lola and I went to the store to pick up some food. Then we went to watch the end of the swim meet and have a potluck lunch with the other families. We were invited out to the movies with another couple. It has been longer than I’d like to admit since Russ and I had been out without kids, and they offered their daughter as a babysitter, so I agreed. But the house was a disaster, so I ran home to tear through it with a rag and a garbage sack. My in-laws stopped by to visit. Then we went out for a quick meal and a movie. We arrived home to a son with the stomach flu. Not. Good. Timing.

Sunday was a true day of rest. Levi and Luke headed to church with my parents, but Russ and I stayed home with Lola (still nursing a lingering cold that appeared after her feverish day) and Leif. I did absolutely nothing.

Monday I finished editing some pictures and made a dessert. That evening was our end of the year celebration program for Classical Conversations.

Img2014-04-29_0007fpm 

Tuesday the boys and I took a scenic drive to Champoeg State Park (about an hour away) for a living history field trip with our charter school. It was a gorgeous, warm day.

Champoeg State ParkImg2014-04-29_0066fpm 

That same evening I had a senior photo shoot for my nephew Daniel.

Daniel 2014 

Wednesday morning the boys had a choir performance at a local assisted living facility (I did take pictures of the boys’ choir events, but I don’t like to share pictures of other kids without asking their parents first.) I spent the afternoon reading in the glorious sunshine. Then Leif had his end of the year program at AWANAS (picture above). (And swim practice for Russ and Levi and Luke.) I wasn’t feeling well that night so I left chores undone (and the house a disaster) and went to bed early at 10ish. I woke at 11 to the sound of puking (Levi). I’ll spare you the details, but it was a disaster that I spent a long time cleaning up. After which Levi spent the rest of the night in the bathroom and I couldn’t fall asleep until 4am—only to be awoken several times by children before I drug myself out of bed a few hours later.

I crept through Thursday at a snail’s pace. Now Luke and I were battling head colds. I managed to escape that evening and attend a much needed and quite lovely book club meeting. My sister Shannon had made paleo fudgesicles. Seriously? LOVE. MY. ChocLit Guild!!

book club 

Friday afternoon was choir dress rehearsal.

Saturday was a long swim meet (Russ coaching, Luke swimming in the morning, Levi swimming in the afternoon). Lola and I visited for part of the day.

Sunday was crazy. I really wasn’t feeling well. The swim meet continued. I had to juggle getting everything ready and packed for the day, transporting boys and trying to watch a couple events while keeping track of Lola, then heading a half hour north for a family bridal shower, and then leaving early to meet back at the pool with dress clothes for the boys to change into. Levi swam right after I arrived, they changed quickly, we grabbed a quick snack, and we headed straight to the church for the boys end of season choir concert. I was half dead by the end of the evening, but a bunch of friends were going out for frozen yogurt. Russ wanted to treat the boys. So we did. And then I crashed.

Monday my mom offered to take the kids. Yes. Please. I was shaky and weak and sick, so the disastrous house went unattended, but I used the time to read and study.

Tuesday my dear friend Cheris offered to take the kids. Yes. Please. And by now I was feeling a bit better so I cleaned up my office. It was impossible to think in that disaster. And then I spread the feast in the sunshine. Thank goodness for paleo-ish chocolate mug cake!

studies 

And this is where you will find me for the next 11 days—prepping to speak at the Salem, Oregon Classical Conversations 3-Day Parent Practicum on May 19th-21st.

I apologize in advance to my husband who will graciously ignore the disaster of a house and pizza for dinner.

If you don’t hear from me for a while, you’ll know why.

(P.S. I purposefully do not keep our schedule like this on a regular basis. This was an unusual couple weeks. Thank goodness! Other than studying and speaking, our schedule for the rest of May and June is much lighter!)

(P.P.S. I have finally caved and subjected myself to a smart phone. So far, it is causing me to feel quite stupid. But I can now text. And post pictures from my phone to Facebook. Yes, I know my grandmother mastered those skills years ago.)

4 comments:

Kellie said...

I LOVE Leif's note! My son leaves messages like that on his papers too. : )

Our last month has been similarly busy (minus all the sickness), so I can't imagine how you survived!

Wish I could attend your Parent Practicum (I would love to hear you speak!), but I will be attending one in my area the same week. It will be my first CC Practicum, so I'm very excited.

Unknown said...

Can I ask you about the charter school that you mentioned in your post? Is that separate from your classical conversations group? How does it work for your family?
Thanks!

Heidi said...

Kathy~ My boys are currently enrolled in the Paisley Distance Learning Program, which is a charter school program through the Paisley, Oregon school district, but most of the students (as well as the principal and teachers) are located in the central Willamette Valley. There are a few different public charter school programs in Oregon for families who school at home, and each one operates differently. With Paisley, the boys are registered as public school students, but we do all our schooling at home and I choose all our curriculum. There are hoops to jump through, of course, such as work samples and testing. The benefits at this point have outweighed the effort. We receive funds to use for resources, materials, and activities as long as they are not faith-based (though we are welcome to purchase and use our own faith-based materials). We have also enjoyed activities and field trips with the extended community (many of whom are also enrolled in CC). I have withdrawn Levi for next year so that he can focus on his Challenge studies and not be interrupted by charter school requirements, due to the full schedule of Challenge work. The younger boys (and their CC work in Foundations and Essentials) are much more flexible.

These programs have proved to be very popular in our area. People are hungry for educational choices! Unfortunately, this also means that the programs fill up quickly and have long waiting lists. :( You can read more about Paisley Distance Learning Program at this link: http://www.paisleydlp.org/

Hannah said...

That is the loveliest literary lineup you have spread there! Frankly, I wouldn't know where to start. Kind of like walking into a Barnes & Noble. :-)

Keep working on that texting and you'll be a natural by the time I get back stateside this summer!