Ellen told me about what she learned from the Redeemer Mommy Time this week (I missed it because of the accident). The focus of the discussion was "Mommy Guilt" and one take-away from the time was to take a minute at the end of each day to recall what you did well/right. I often feel constantly busy but as if I'm accomplishing nothing and I can easily feel like I'm not doing enough. I can feel that even the little I manage to accomplish isn't done well enough. So, I thought I'd give this idea a test run to see how it could be a source of encouragement.
Monday: I helped Adriaan start a Quiet Time Journal now that he's interested and willing to write and draw pictures. We read a page in a children's bible and pick out one sentence for him to copy in his journal. Sometimes he'll draw a picture too. He's been asking for homework and to do home school even though he goes to City School.
After dinner, we had a pine cone painting party. The cones came from Houston and after painting them I made a festive fall swag for the front door. Every time that Seb sees it, he says his new favorite word "Wow!"
Tuesday: We had play time with fun friends, Heidi and Tirzah. First we played in her backyard in the little houses and on the swing set. Then, we went to hobby lobby and to the library. There was no story time so we had our own time in the children's literature section. They have a great selection of board books and the babies were thrilled at not having to share my lap. Eden carried a book over to Heidi and just sat on her lap, claiming the spot.
Before dinner we spent an hour outside as a family, playing together and working. I finally fertilized the tomato and pepper plants with Flower Power and Will hung the chicken's scratch canister. Will also took the training wheels off of Adriaan's bike and thanks to the balance bike Ado took his first bike ride on two wheels! Later, Ado told me "I might get up before 7:00 tomorrow morning to practice on my bike!"
Wednesday: I got the babies involved in helping load the dishwasher after breakfast. They enjoyed getting to place silverware and bowls in the washer. I would assign groups of silverware or individual bowls so they would be less likely to compete over an opportunity to place something. Then, I stopped what I was doing and read books with them after Seb patted me on the leg and asked "books, books?"
I brought the little table and chairs into the kitchen to give the babies a place to sit to eat/drink and be near me while I'm working on cooking/cleaning.
Before bed, I got out a picnic mat and the lacing toys and played with the kids. The rule is that the special toy isn't allowed off of the mat. I'm hoping that this will limit mess and loss of toys. I've had homeschooling on the brain and I'm eager to home school again next year. I think a little special toy on the picnic mat training will be very helpful next year.
Thursday: It was a low energy day, but I finally started another "school" book with the babies. We're following the suggested reading list in Before Five In A Row (BFIAR). We'll repeat it again next year but spend more time on the academic disciplines as we read each book. For now, it's just simply reading the same book each day for a week or two. This week our book is "The Big Red Barn" and the library happened to have two copies! They enjoy pointing out animals and saying the sounds each one makes.
In the late afternoon we all went over the fence to play and hang out with Suzy, Jette and Zoe.
Friday: Today we all went to the pumpkin patch in Elgin. We met friends there (3 moms and 8 children), quite the gaggle. Swinging seemed to be the favorite activity but the hayride, crazy maze and duck races were a lot of fun as well. I think I may have managed to snap a few "good" pictures. The secret, I've learned, is not trying to get a nice picture of all three. Get good ones of each individually - that's the best way!
Saturday: So, we started out rough when someone knocked on my door at 6:45am. We're not sure *who* it was since Adriaan has no recollection of knocking. Since it woke me up, I'm pretty sure that I wasn't dreaming. I was dreaming one of those dreams that I didn't want to end. In the dream I was holding someone I love so very much and whom I never had a chance to meet. I saw big blue eyes and light brown hair, darker than the rest of the kids. I'm not sure if I was looking at a boy or a girl but the eye shape and big cheeks were familiar, they looked just like the other three. It was heartbreaking and I stayed in bed for a while just to settle all the emotion.
Will arranged for people to care for the children so that I could attend a class on Wildflower Meadows at the Natural Gardener. It sounded like Adriaan had a great time with Michele at his soccer game. He even managed to sweet-talk her into a trip to McD's! The babies got to play at the Rees' and when I arrived to pick them up Seb was in the swing and super happy. He was bummed to leave and cried the whole way home. Eden kept trying to fall asleep on the drive home so I'm assuming she had a great time running around!
Adriaan played with Jette all afternoon. They're such great friends.
After the babies woke from their nap we all went over the fence and watched spiderman cartoons, played on the drum set and ran around the back yard!
Today was a good day for the kids because they got to spend time with friends and I was able to do something I enjoy, the class on wildflowers, which was refreshing.
Sunday: Happy Birthday Sebastin! Happy Birthday Eden!
We celebrated with a picnic dinner at Mueller Lake Park. After an hour of playing on the play ground we had dinner, juice boxes (a very special treat) and chocolate cake!!! Adriaan enjoyed the open spaces to ride his bike.
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