My Daybook: June 2nd, 2014

Outside my window…
the rain is pouring down! Children are checking gutters and downpipes to ensure all the water runs into the tank

I am thankful…
for a very talented husband who is currently tiling our new bathrooms!:):)  He really astounds me with how he can turn his hand to anything.  I’ve yet to see him fail to undertake and master any skill

I am thinking…
about food, what’s nutritious and what’s empty of value.  To tell the truth I’ve always struggled to keep the various foods in the various columns in my mind, I think I need a chart

Learning all the time…

• crafting essays with our highschoolers using The Writer’s Workshop.  Totally ‘blown away’ with their vocabulary and language skills
• focusing on spelling with those ‘in need’, once again falling in love with All About Spelling
• using All About Reading for the first time with Jem(5), amazed at how quick he is picking up his sounds.  Not certain if it is the program though, it could easily be him, he is quick at learning

Celebrating the liturgical year……
well the plan is to read The Little Oratory and be inspired to re-balance our prayer life

From the kitchen…
we have been making this awesome ‘bread within an hour’ (plain flour’s fine, all we had) though as I’m planning on eliminating wheat again, I’m searching for a great gluten free bread.  Any tried and true recommendations?

I am creating…
more fabric bins, I want to finally finish re-vamping the learning room, though Jen’s discussion on Atmosphere and Environment has me carefully considering just how I achieve this.

I am working on…
consistent habits, specifically; daily exercise,meal cleanups, and bedtime routines.  Making great progress in most areas, still needs tweaking in one

I am going…
on more regular walks.  Feeling so much better for exercising, communing with nature’s nice too:)

I am hoping…
to successfully focus on language arts skills with all the children for the rest of the term

I am praying…

• for our College children
• for a couple of families expecting babies
• for my brother and his fiancee
• for our nephew and his fiancee

I am pondering….

• about life goals for our children
• about the Catholic view of happiness and suffering

I am reading…
there’s so much in my tottering bedside pile awaiting my attention, such as
The Smartest Kids in the World
The Little Oratory
Cure Tooth Decay
The Core: Teaching Your Child the Foundations of Classical Education
and for some lighter reading I’ve just discovered Felicity Young, mysteries set in 1911.
which has sent me on a research tangent reading about when women ‘got’ the vote
and on my Kobo
Teaching from Rest
Rejoicing in Repetition
Family-First Creative

I am listening to……
well I began listening to a podcast, and there are so many more I want to inhale but.. my dilemma.  I feel like I’m being rude to my family sitting around with headphones on my head, sort of like I’m having a party but they’re not invited, so… I took the headphones off to include them, but… they um… declared it rather … boring.  No solution found thus far…

I am hearing…
childrens’ noises; the children sitting in the study with me, the baby on my lap, other children playing outside in the rain

I am struggling…
not struggling but realising anew that parenting never stops, there’s never a ‘used by’ date.  No matter their age our children will always need us on some level.  Translates to hat juggling to meet the needs of all, but I’m so blessed I know.

Clicking around…

• Of tears on tulips and just doing it – “You just have to get up and engage. Be the grownup. Follow through. Fix the breakdown. Prevent future breakdowns by being there….”
• The Common Pursuit of Knowledge – “Environment is not Atmosphere”
• Dr Mark Hyman – lots of fascinating information I’m discovering as I click around

‘St Peter’s Basilica’

Around the house…

• bathroom is being tiled by PC with a little help from Co:):)
• learning Room re-vamp
• endeavouring to regularly stick to daily clean up plan

One of my favorite things…

• watching our children play together
• enjoying activities as a family.  Our latest, PC has initiated an online crossword competition, many nights we(three oldest, PC & I) attempt the same crossword at dueling computers. The children are astounding me with their vocabulary and spelling. One day, one day I will win!

A few plans for this week…
nothing too major, just the regular; sports runs a couple of days a week, work runs another four. Meeting parenting, educational and home making needs.
The month though is rather full.  A 100th birthday, an engagement party(5 hours away), a soccer carnival, local homeschool meeting (have to yet finalise plans), a formal Dinner, a Sisterhood meeting (new group at Church, sounds promising!) Einstein’s driving test and Jelly Bean’s 10th birthday (the first birthday of ‘three in one week’).
Yeah enjoying this week.

A little peek at my day…
Well my morning began with a walk through the bush, plus a productive morning of lessons including writing with the olders and spelling with the youngers:)  I settled in for one day free from driving into town when Einstein was called into work. Counting the days until he goes for his driving test!