One Day in February

Well, I could spout off about how our days are always perfect (lie) and that we always get everything done (another lie) or how no one ever argues about anything (GINORMOUS lie). But, I'm not going to. For this month's "Day in the life" post I'm sharing Tuesday, February 18th with you.

7:05 AM ... I woke up and glanced at the TV where the news was playing. Nu uh ... don't want to get up yet. Listen for a minute. Nope, no kids making noise yet. Just a few more minutes of rest ... I had forgotten to set the alarm after all...

8:59 AM ... *BlinkblinkBlink* Um, I was only supposed to sleep for a few more minutes. I guess nearly 120 "could" be considered just a few more in someones world. Time to get up. Out of bed I go and do all the things one must do to prepare for the day such as getting dressed and such. I notice the children have already finished breakfast and begun their chores.

9:05 AM - 10 AM ... Turn on coffee pot. Empty my portion of the dishwasher. Pour cup of coffee. Check e-mails on my two accounts, read other's blog posts from this morning, and pop onto Facebook for a few minutes. Second cup of coffee poured while Daddy washes the pots and pans from supper last night. I load them in the dishwasher and turn the thing on. Washer is loaded as well while the campers finish their morning chores. I also spend just a few minutes copying out some notes for lesson guidelines I've been working on for a day or so. Daddy also heads down to one of our neighbor's houses to do them a favor.

10:05 AM ... I notice the time and call the girls in the room to do their morning binders. ECJ has bopped outside to shovel snow. While the binder work begins I gather the day's lesson materials and Daddy hops onto the computer. We do some Bible reading while the girls are working on their binders (ECJ will have to read his later). 

10:30 AM ... YCJ and Peanut have moved on to their next lessons. In this case copying spelling, sight words, and cursive lettering for YCJ and more work on the letter R for Peanut. ECJ has joined us again and has begun his lessons.





11 AM ... Daddy breaks out a jar and one of the "expanding pills" for a quick experiment about expansion for the girls and a super short idea demo for ECJ. The girls are very excited to learn that they'll each have four of these "cool" pills to take into the bath with them later this afternoon. They can compare and contrast whose "grows" first and if soap in the container seems to make any difference on how fast they escape the pills. Peanut thought these were the neatest thing yet and has asked for us to buy more next month (which of course we will, hello Dollar Tree our old friend). This little project only takes about five minutes or so and then it's back to lessons.


11:15 AM - Noon ... Everyone is busily working on their lessons. Peanut's now working on her computer lessons, a part of the day that can sometimes be her favorite and sometimes make her cranky. YCJ has finished her Language Arts work (much to her satisfaction) and moved on to her Math. ECJ is almost finished with his Math at this point. One of the other neighbor's show up and ask Daddy if he can come over to help with a small plumbing issue, so Daddy heads over to do that. I finish planning this week's lessons since there's nothing planned yet for tomorrow on (not normal for me, but that's OK). 

Noon - 1 PM ... Sometime in here we have a snack, today it's apples and oranges. ECJ is working on his health work, which for the next month or so includes a series of exercises that takes him somewhere around half an hour and forty-five minutes to complete. YCJ is still working on her math work while Peanut has discovered some new fun things about one of the new programs we're trying out. This has turned an otherwise "I want to be done with school" day for her into a better day since she is giggling behind her hand most of this time.

Five minutes after added to hot water
the yellow one expands

1 PM - 2 PM ... More math for YCJ more because she wants to take her time on it than because she actually needs to take this long. More giggling going on from Peanut at the computer. And YCJ has decided that it's a good time to work on his quick science experiment. You see, he'd asked when we first showed them the "expanding pills" what would happen if you swallowed one (yeah, not good idea) so we set him a quick experiment to find out. Now, we don't have digestive juices just lying around the house so we decided that apple cider vinegar would just have to simulate them. The bowl on the left (yellow) has hot water, the center bowl (blue) has the vinegar, and the bowl on the right (red) has cold water in it. ECJ wrote out a title for the experiment, supplies list, and his hypothesis:

"I think that the hot and cold water one will expand at the same time.

I think that the vinegar one will just pop right away. Temperature shouldn't

have any effect."

Explaining to Peanut

2 PM - 2:35 PM ... I make lunch for everyone, which today is spaghetti rings. ECJ straightens things up a little bit but continues his experiment, marking down times and observations, along with each time he agitates the pill in the liquid. He also gets everyone something to drink while I dish out lunch. We say our prayers. During lunch I read YCJ's health lesson out loud since her Math is finished for the day and her last lesson is her health. It's about manners, yup this is a good lesson for everyone to listen to. We're all quietly watching ECJ's experiment while this is going on. Honestly I'd thought the vinegar would react faster to the gel on the capsule. I feed the dogs their supper while Daddy heads back down to the first neighbor's house to continue the favor. While he's down there he slips and falls, not good for someone who tore their patellar tendon almost three years ago and it's never been fixed. Thankfully he didn't injure himself further.

I love our dining room clock.
Thank you Daddy.

2:35 PM ... We get bundled up and head outside. It's time to build and igloo/fort in all this snow we have outside and now that the weather isn't so frigid Mommy's willing to help with the project. The campers have tried this several times on their own but it just didn't work out that well for them. We goofed around for a few minutes before getting to work. The snow, at it's shallowest point in our yard, still comes up over the tops of my boots which are just short of knee high and have 3 inch heels!

Ah, the fun we had outside. Ouch my poor, not in such good shape to begin with, back. Shoveling is hard work. Lifting and carrying that heavy snow really takes a lot out of you.

The time that Mommy came in to get warm.
Also the time the last capsule (in cold water) finally popped.

3:50 PM ... Mom comes inside, unbundles, snaps picture of the clock again so she'll remember the time, pours a cup of coffee, and looks at ECJ's experiment just in time to see the last sponge escape from it's pill. Peanut might last a few more minutes outside so I hope onto the computer to work on today's blog ( this one not the one you're reading now). Getting out of my seat every few minutes to check on the campers.

4:15 PM ... Peanut comes inside. Her gloves are wet, her hands are cold, and she wants hot chocolate. I'm glad to oblige. Hot chocolate gone she decides to draw and color a picture of "Queen Mommy in Spring" (notice the dandelion) and then play fort under a couch cushion. She's glad Daddy's napping because, "I like to nap to when I have an owie."

4:40 PM ... Peanut and I pull on boots and coats to go down to the neighbor's house (the one Daddy's gone to twice today) to help with the favor, we gather YCJ up as we go. It takes about ten minutes to let the neighbor's small dogs out to potty and to give them their supper. 

5 PM - 6:30 PM ... The girls are in the bath with their "expanding pills" after a cup of hot chocolate. I work on the blog post in between starting supper, checking on the girls in the tub, and checking on ECJ who is still outside and playing with a neighbor kid. By 5:30 the post is up and linked, Daddy's helped get the chicken in the oven, and I've had a couple more cups of coffee. Turnip greens are cooking and the salad is in the fridge ready for supper time. By 6 PM ECJ comes in and then takes the dogs outside. Girls get out of the tub about 6:15.

6:30 - 7 PM ... Peanut "curls" YCJ's hair with doll curlers. ECJ straightens up his mess on the dining table and finishes writing out the rough draft of his experiment notes from today, muttering about how his hypothesis was completely wrong. I put the salad in individual bowls and YCJ sets the table. Yes those are celery sticks in that jar being used as a centerpiece, it'll be clear why they're there pretty soon. 

7 PM - 7:45 PM ... Peanut gets her migraine medicine (yay, we're down to one now). The rest of the food is put on the plates and set at the table. Hands and faces washed, hair brushed, we settle to eat. Tonight Daddy and I are eating at the coffee table in case either one of us wishes to stay seated for very long. Some nights it takes longer to eat some nights it takes less. Most nights we eat supper long before 7 PM. But when you've had weeks of forced captivity and you get a chance to enjoy the outdoors without freezing your buttocks off you push supper back and not worry about it. 

7:45 PM - 8:30 PM ... Clean up from supper. Mommy shows the campers how to start the celery experiment. They finish up their art projects begun last week for me while I read from the Bible to them. As soon as the girls are finished with their project, which they work on while eating Conversation Hearts, they get ready for bed. Brushing teeth and all that good stuff. ECJ washes supper dishes and loads the dishwasher before finishing his project, then jumps into the shower. Daddy goes back to the neighbor's to let the dogs out one more time.

8:30 - 9 PM ... The girls beg off my reading to them tonight claiming their too tired to enjoy Little House in the Big Woods. YCJ says two and a half decades of the rosary with Peanut before Peanut asks her to stop because she's sleepy. Covers are placed over Peanut and the lights are turned off. YCJ finishes her rosary in her own room and then turns out the light. Daddy's called down to the neighbor's house because he's back home and wants to thank Daddy for taking care of his dogs. ECJ says his rosary and then begins to read. I start working on the post you're reading now with another cup of coffee close at hand.

By 10 PM ECJ is asleep. The girls have been asleep almost since their lights were turned off. Daddy and I have talked a bit and I've checked Facebook while loading pictures to this blog. 

By 11 PM Daddy's gone to the bedroom with the dogs, the dishwasher has been finished for awhile and I should unload it but it'll wait, and I've made another pot of coffee.

11:24 PM I'm finishing this post and getting ready to make a light snack before heading to the room myself. I'm tired. Last night I was asleep for an hour by this time. Tonight it'll probably be more like 1:30 AM. Such is life. Peanut is now sleeping through the nights almost every night and this means that I'm getting more sleep no matter what time I get to sleep. Everything is set for tomorrow. The pots are soaking till morning. Before I fall asleep I'll set the coffee pot up so that I'm not fumbling around with it before I'm awake. Daddy has an appointment tomorrow afternoon for his knee pain and we're starting a new section in our History studies. Before heading to bed tonight I'll do some more Bible reading, say my rosary and my prayers, and spend a few minutes staring at the Olympics.

No two days are really the same here. This week we'll be spending a lot of time outside as the weather is going to be warmer than it has been in what seems like forever. There's science experiments going on left and right this week, which isn't an everyday thing here. And other than Language Arts and Math we're done with "book work" until Monday. Health can be put on hold while we enjoy the great outdoors and get some much needed exercise and vitamin D, we'll be reading children's non-fiction for our history work, and diving into the 42 books we've borrowed from the library. Projects will get worked on and life will be lived. There was no catechism this week because the local schools were off for break, but they'll be back in session next Tuesday although the Cracker Jack's had their homework finished before supper was on the table last Tuesday night. 

No, life's not perfect around here. But it sure is blessed. I also worked on this post about what's working for ECJ.

Linking up with Our Busy Homeschool



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