Week in Review: Aug. 22-26, 2011

I'll tell you up front that this a long post. We had a fun and busy week.

I initially thought I'd do a Day-In-The-Life post, but the amount of stopping to photograph our day caused serious problems (READ: I didn't get a thing accomplished). Here's a quasi-Day in the Life intermingled with this week's review.

We eat breakfast, then get started on chores. Punk is already off to school when we get started, so BamBam and Primpress unload the dishwasher, make their beds, and help fold a load of laundry. Baby Bear is learning how to put away silverware and make his bed. I get up before the kids, trying to sneak in a walk at least 3x a week, start a load of laundry, prep for dinner, etc., except for today because Seamus decided that he'd have a party in his crib at 3:00 AM. I was invited.

Then we start on spelling and math.

We goof around a bit and have fun. We also work on other subjects (grammar, history, etc.).

We take frequent breaks to entertain Seamus. Or feed him. Or change stinking diapers. Or just rock him.

We listen to music.

Snack time is important, too.

After lunch, while Seamus is napping, we tackle writing. And I just LOVE Writing With Ease! Thanks SWB! I thought I was going to have a little meltdown over introducing dictation this year. (Okay, so I DID have a little meltdown). I adjusted my expectations, sought some wisdom from the Hive Mind, tried again, and now we're rolling.

We started reading The Cricket in Times Square as our read aloud.

Then the rest of our afternoon is spent making messes, such as tearing up my sheets to make mummy linens...

... and David (of the Bible) costumes. The costume is not complete without a bag for his stones and a belt with building block as sling. These kids crack me up. I thought a mummy costume would be more interesting, but BamBam was set on being David - love it!

One day this week Grandma G stopped by with a big surprise for the kids.

The nearly complete sets of Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books. Woo-hoo! She got them for $5. FIVE DOLLARS! Amazon has them starting around $200 per set. Yeah. That lady knows how to garage sale.

Starting to get them organized and on the bookshelves. They are in beautiful condition.

On Wednesday, we visited the local roller rink with Grandma G.

I think that my kids were switched at birth. I'm pretty sure I was born with roller skates on my feet, and my kids... weren't. I think we've recovered enough now that perhaps we'll try again. This picture about sums it up. Haha! When we left she said she never wants to skate again. Today she's already asking when are we going back to Skate City.

Before Daddy Jayhawk gets home, we start picking up. If he saw half the mess the kids made on a daily basis, well, oh my. Eh, what am I saying? He sees the messes every weekend! Bear scrubs the table (and in my best Wizard of Oz voice, "Ignore the mess behind the boy") and we do a general all around pick-up.

When Dad gets home, we sometimes go for a walk before dinner. On really nice nights, we go to one of our favorite trails. (Punk had a ROTC event at school so he wasn't able to join us).

It's our informal version of a nature walk. We find funnel spiders.

Frogs hiding in mud.

Beautiful spider webs.

Black-eyed Susans.

Bald Cypress trees (Dad's favorite!)

Reading and learning along the way

And experiencing beauty.

After dinner and evening chores, I've started instituting Candle Time. We light the living room candles and all snuggle in with a book or writing journal. It helps everyone to calm down and prepare for bed. Somehow we manage to throw in grocery shopping once a week, never-ending laundry, frequent trips to the library, and plenty of play time. You know, all the stuff that other people do but seems more impressive when you write it down. :) Have a great weekend!