Atlas

Yesterday I typed a huge post complete with itinerary of our homeschool day and the craziness that ensues each and every minute. Then my littles squirt walked by and pushed the ever so tempting green  button that turns the computer off.
Sigh.
To sum up...
We had a schedule of Writing, Language Arts, Reading Lessons, History, Math, Geography, and Piano. These do not happen at the same time. One kid will be working on reading while two others do math and mom tries not to permanetly put little squirt in her crib from drawing on the couch while trying to figure out why the definition of a noun has changed since she was in school.
Sigh.
Then the air conditioner guy shows up. I had put in a service order with our home warranty company since the AC had started to make a noise like a small fiat. I  was expecting a phone call to schedule the appointment. The guy called and said he was five minutes away. I tried to be happy (how often do they come that fast?) but the house was truly a mess. The AC guy walked in, told me the loud noise was from me not changing the filter,changed it  and charged me 60 bucks. After he left I turned it back on and the loud noise went from a small fiat to a MAC truck.
Sigh.
We were also hosting bookclub at our house at 3. My kids had helped plan out the activities and made refreshments. No one showed.
Sigh.
Hubby came home around 6. I had forgotten that he had a class that night at 6:30 that lasted 3 hours. I was going to be feeding the kids dinner, cleaning up, and getting them into bed by myself. I was a little terse with hubby before he walked out the door. It wasn't his fault he was leaving, he had told me repeatedly about it but at the moment I didn't believe him.
Sigh.
After the kiddos were in bed I purposefully at the remainder of the cookies from bookclub. There were a lot left over due to the no shows. Then I opened a bag of chips to conteract the sweetness. So much for the diet.
Sigh.

Ever have days like that? No one died, no major accidents or catastrophes but like Atlas the world just seems awfully heavy.

Today I woke up feeling lousy. My kids and I huddled in my bed, still in pjs deciding not to get up and going right away. Schedules be damned was the motto (at least in my head) We finished reading the book 'The Inventions of Hugo Cabret' so we could have a movie night tonight. Another AC guy showed up after I put in another service request. He thought my MAC truck comment on the description request was funny and told me so. My hubby came home briefly in between meetings and gave me a hug. He said he would try to get off work a little early today. A bookclub mom called to apologize for missing yesterday and asked if we could hang out today. We might make more cookies before she gets here.

And suddenly I am no longer Atlas holding the world on my own. There are others and as always when you share, the weight is not so heavy anymore.

1950

I love vacuums. It's weird I know. I should get super excited about jewerly, chocolates, and big stuffed teddy bears and I do. The fact is that I only own a few pieces of jewerly I truly care about and I'm awful about remembering to put them on. I am always a girl who loves her chocolate but it only lasts so long. Big bears? I have five daughters which means my home is overrun with stuffed animals. What I love is a really good vacuum that works and is easy to fix. When I first got married my mother in law gave me a Kirby. Dang those things last, and last, and last. They are also heavy. Then my husband bought me a new Bissell. It was lightweight and when the tube got jammed I could unhook it and easily get the crayon/hairbow/stuffed teddy bear out without too much fuss. Plus my house was clean. Last week my Bissell finally died and I went shopping for a new one. It came yesterday. It is shiny and bagless. It picks up super amounts of dirt. Oh yes, I was born in the wrong era.

It Doesn't Have to be Complicated

This week has been crazy. My in laws were here from China but not technically 'here'. You see, we live in Texas and in Texas everything is big and far away. I have a very love/hate relationship with the size of it all but mostly I veer toward the love....until last weekend. When my in laws call and say they are in Texas it means a 6 hour drive to spend a few hours. I love them but this time I packed up my husband and two of our squirts and kissed them goodbye. Then I took the older squirts and we did a manical crazy cleaning frenzy. I had started to spring clean (read Tolkien post here) but this gave a huge jump in organization. In between we tried to have a little fun.
Frozen yogurt for dinner.
Steady streams of nerds and mini chocolate bars.
Music blaring while sweeping out the garage.
And you know what? It was fun. With every squirt home all day, every day, I often feel like the quality time gets a little reduced. We do a lot of quantity but most of it is mom hovering over their shoulders correcting math or asking them to wait one minute while I finish taking care of a little squirt's basic need. This last weekend we talked. A lot. There were no interupptions. Yes, baby was home but she was pretty mild and could be hauled around and talked over. After the weekend was over I asked if they were sad that they didn't get to go with their Dad.
No.
Well, maybe a little, but they had fun.
Some weeks I feel like I have a lot of great, unique parenting and homeschool ideas that I like to try and see come to fruitation. Then this weekend we did things that were not creative or intellectual but we made memories. I spent time with my kiddos and really, isn't that what it is all about?

Oh the noise!

At this very moment there is a new train toy that whistles, sings, chugs, and thumps. As a rule I try to keep the noisy toys at our house to a minimum but this one snuck in. Baby squirt though is highly entertained and since 6 year squirt is helping her push it back and forth it keeps both of them entertained. 8 year squirt is playing the piano. I can hear snatches of rehearsal songs and then the random up and down the keyboard she really likes to do. 4 year squirt is singing to herself in the playroom and 10 year squirt keeps shooting questions my way about her reading assignment.

Oh the noise.

The piano just stopped and someone is complaining that someone else won't play with them. 10 finished reading and asks to be done. She spun the chair around only to smack baby in the head. Oops. Now crying is thrown in. Back in a minute.

The doorbell rang in the intermission. The next door neighbor brought over crayons and a coloring book for my little squirts. She is incredibly sweet. Retired with a husband who had to go into a nursing home right before we moved in. She says it does her good to see my kids running around the yard. She is really, really, sweet.

Broke up a small fight. Quiet. Maybe I should see what they are doing. Quiet can be scary. Nope, chatter, the buzzer on the dryer just went off and the phone just made me jump a mile by ringing. Different tones for different people. This one I'll answer.

A Tolkien Kind of Day

I'm the kind of gal who likes background noise. A good audiobook, all kinds of music, a movie, or my squirts practicing the piano. Most days an hour or so of good beats, English accents, or funny narrative is enough to get my 'chores' done but sometimes our home gets drastic. I few weeks ago I posted here about my Jane Austen Day. These are days when there is a big project to finish and I pop in the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice and get to it. Those DVDs are roughly 5 hours long. I can usually finish whatever it is I am doing in time to sit back and watch Mr. Darcy's eyes as he gazes adoringly at Elizabeth helping his sister play the piano....sigh.....
Sometimes 'the house', an entity in it's own right, needs a little more. Break out the Tolkien Day. That is when I put on the extended versions of Lord of Rings to get my big jobs done. I get out all three extended edition movies and haul my laptop from room to room setting it precariously atop something for a little background noise. Battle noises clang and crash as bathroom tiles get scrubbed and windows squeak clean.
Today is such a day. The summer heat is climbing and I do not like to clean in 100 degree temps.  Weekends tend to get used up in our house so I pick a Wed through Fri, give my squirts lots of review worksheets and healthy snacks, break out the M&Ms for myself and the sparkling water for drinking (remember, I am trying to diet here!)

When Dad comes come and Tolkien is on he knows some serious spring cleaning is ensuing. He usually takes the kids and gets out of the house.

So, what did I put on 6 months ago while I was preparing a house to move? Let's just say that every single one of the Harry Potter films can last you quite a few late nights.

Good Reads

I'm a sucker for a good book. I especially love books I can read my kids at nighttime. It's our tradition. Tuck them into bed, warm in foot pajamas, the baby asleep in the next room. They don't all share a room but we all convene for a half hour to listen to the spellbinding tale of The Hobbit or the unruly humour of Roald Dahl. Here are ten of our favorite authors or books, in no particular order. There are more but little squirts are getting hungry for lunch!

1. As previously mentioned....The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. Our copy  has the front cover taped on and the back cover missing. Each chapter is it's own adventure as Bilbo Baggins enters a world of bravery, wit, and common sense. A great read before the movie comes out (which I'm sure will be fabulous) and all the characters have time to form in their imagination before one day they see it and the actors take those places.

2. Roald Dahl. We have not read all of his books and actually have not enjoyed all we have read. Those we love however we love to the point of obsession.
    ~ Matilda - in a house full of girls this is a winner. A little girl with a superpowered brain? Love it!
    ~Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - My personal favorite. There are points in the movies I like but nothing replaces the book.
   ~BFG - This is the first book my oldest daughter read entirely by herself. The cover is now also     missing, the pages worn and marked. It just might always be her first love.
   ~The Twits and Fantastic Mr. Fox - Short fun reads that make you giggle.
   ~James and the Giant Peach - This one my children enjoyed but didn't get into as much as the ones above. Still worth the read though!
   ~Boy, Tales of Childhood - Another personal favorite. My children were shocked at life before seat belts, good doctors, and FDA restrictions. It's also fun to see where the ideas of his books came from.

3. The Sign of the Beaver, by Elizabeth George Speare - A Newberry Honor book and for good reason. The story flows, is historically accurate, and my children were amazed that a twelve year old boy would be left alone to fend for himself in a cabin in the woods. I loved the theme of strong family ties that ran through it and the ideas of two cultures living side by side and yet being so different. Interesting without being preachy and thoughtful without being dull.

4. The Secret Garden by Fances Hodgson Burnett - Growing up A Little Princess by the same author was my all time favorite book with A Secret Garden being one I enjoyed the one time I read it. The flip side is true with my daughters showing that everyone has their own tastes and personalities. The language is a little old fashioned but more than worth it!

5. The Enchanted Forest Chronicles, by Patricia C. Wrede - There are four books altogether (I do not recommend the fifth one of short stories, it's for a much older crowd and unrelated) and every character is a hoot! A bored princess, a practical witch, a prince who does not want to get married. They are fun, action packed, and gets you craving cherries jubilee!

6. The Wind in the Willows, by Kenneth Grahame - Honestly, did you grow up not knowing  rat, mole, badger and the famous Mr. Toad? A bit daunting with little type and lots of old fashioned words? Read it anyway. Your kids will love it!

7. Charlotte's Web, by E.B. White - My kids spent weeks trying to talk to animals the first time they read it. This one has also been handled so many time that the spine is falling off.

8. Mrs. Piggle Wiggle, by Betty MacDonald - An upside down house? Crazy treatments for the most unruly of children? This one is great for bedtime since each chapter is in itself a different story. There are others (Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's Magic, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggles Farm) but this is my favorite.

9. Rick Riordon - My husband picked the first one up after hearing about it from a coworker....or maybe it was given as a gift? I can't remember now but he started reading these to the girls and I didn't see any of them after 7 pm for a good 2 months. They have read The Olympians books with all the corresponding literature, break offs, and what have you. Last week I picked up The Red Pyramid on audio CD (Kane Chronicles) from the library and the voices are hysterical. It's always crazy to me when a generation of little kids can go around spouting off Greek mythology and names.

10. Brandon Mull started when my brother started dating the author's sister. The Fablehaven books are perfect for homeschooling since my oldest can't get enough of them and they happen to have handy and easy thougth provoking questions at the end of every book. She reads and then gets to answer all the questions at the end. They aren't washed down either, some of them really make her think. Since she just finished the last book in the Fablehaven Series we are planning on checking out the other works by Brandon Mull. We hear the Beyonders books are even better, although the source might be a bit biased ;)