Pinewood Castle

One of Those Days

Something happened to everyone today.

Sunshine cried when we sang Danny Boy during circle time. Tender-hearted, that girl is. We quickly switched to some rollicking verses of Rattlin Bog to cheer her up.

Dancer lost her lunch on the shoulder of I-94 today. Evidently she really can't read in the van. Never underestimate a child who says they feel like they are going to throw up. At least she didn't throw up on Sunshine's head like she did two summers ago. That is a day I'll never forget.

Toddler princess climbed into the learning tower and banged her cheek. She'll have a bruise in the morning.

Dino dropped a balance beam on his big toe. He screamed so loud it made me feel nauseous. He will have a black toenail tomorrow.

Otherwise we had a perfectly wonderful day reading books, eating green foods, coloring St. Patrick, watching the video, making these felt shamrocks (we did them by hand), baking Irish soda bread and simmering beef stew. Our Wee Felt Saint Patrick came out of the box to grace our table.

My only memory of St. Patrick's Day as a girl is wearing green to school to avoid getting pinched. The opportunity to create meaningful and lasting traditions with my family fills me to the brim with gratitude. Even if it was one of those days.

On Tap this Weekend

No, it's not green beer!

Green Goodness juice perhaps!

I would love nothing more than to have the time to write a few really good blog posts this weekend. I've packed things a little too tightly.

Yesterday:

• Stopped by chiro for a weigh-in. I am going to put away my inaccurate home scale. It says I gained a pound but I really lost one. I am still losing fat pounds and lowering BMI. Not very quickly but this plateau won't last forever, right Renee?!
• Took Dancer to the dentist in the cities. Two baby teeth were pulled (eeesh) to make room for braces and headgear. I held her hand but had to look away for most of it.
• Stopped by the church where she was baptized for a short visit.
• Treated her to a shake from Ben & Jerry's.
• Stopped for an oil change at the dealership that took over an hour. Long line at the car wash I guess.
• Came home to reconnect with the littlest one and check progress of the kids left with Dad who worked from home. I missed Tricia's call. Sorry Tricia! Let's try again!
• Took toddler grocery shopping with me. Gathered things like beef stew meat, pistachio pudding, buttermilk and Guinness stout (for stew) for Tuesday's menu. Also steak & potatoes to treat dh on his name day Thursday!
• DH made salmon loaf while I was away. Heaps of praise!
• Forgot to do stations at home. Oops.

Today:

• Take the kids to try out a 4-H event. Would 4-H would be a good option over scouts for next year?
• Run to the library for St. Patrick materials.
• Come home for lunch.
• Go down to Orchestra Hall to hear the Suzuki graduation concerts. Our kids do not graduate this year, but I thought they might like to know what to expect for next year. Motivating too I hope.
• Date night movie - previewing Man on Wire before showing it to the children. Our FIAR book this week was Mirette on the High Wire.
• Stations at home.

Tomorrow:

• Get a chicken in the crock pot.
• Quick Sunday breakfast.
• Load the CD player with Irish music.
• Get out the St. Patrick's Day decorations.
• Go to St. Agnes for Mass.
• Hop over to the Irish Music and Dance day.
• Come home to eat and plan the school week. St. Patrick's Day, St. Joseph's Day, a trip to the Bakken Museum of Electricity, a Maple Syrup Festival and Laetare Sunday next Sunday.

THE BEST PART:

A whole week above freezing!

Hello and Merry Christmas to everyone! I have been spending more time looking at other blogs these days, enjoying the Christmas photos and reflections. I promise I will get some of our own photos up soon. In the meantime I am enjoying my husband being home and shamelessly taking advantage by indulging in such things as two miles on the treadmill followed by a bath in the middle of the afternoon. I also took the liberty to designate today as "basement day" and tomorrow as "paperwork day". I really should take before and after photos but it would be too embarrassing!

The mood to plan also typically strikes this time of year and I enjoyed taking a whole day to plan out the month of January and spend some time on the phone making much needed dental appointments and booking the babysitter for several dates including St. Valentine's Day just six weeks away! We don't usually do anything grand, but this year I noticed some interesting offerings through the Minnesota Historical Society such as a Victorian"poetry slam" and English country dancing. Now that the baby is weaned we may just have to take advantage of such opportunities!

Also after our basement is cleaned up enough to keep me from a panic attack we are also dreaming, and I do mean financially dreaming of finishing the basement in order to move the learning room down there. That would give us many more square feet of space to "do school", free up a main level room for a little Waldorf style play room and hopefully free our little family room of toys as well. We really should be working on that 6-12 month emergency savings in times like this but I notice that is isn't stopping my husband from breaking out his tape measure and mulling over the possibilities.

I am also thinking about what direction to go with this blog. I don't have a lot of original homeschooling ideas these days. We plan to spend the next week or two getting back into a schedule and writing thank you notes for handwriting practice.Many craft kits and fun books were received as gifts so that will keep us busy before beginning Five in a Row Volume 2.

What I would love is some feedback from you about the following possibilities:

1. I could type up my seasonal plans with ideas for circle time singing, picture books and crafts and post that.
2. I could post about books and movies and CDs that I've enjoyed or have recently taken in. I am thinking along the lines of my impressions and personal responses rather than formal reviews.
3. Or I could conceivably share my conversion story. I have always felt that God may call me to share it sometime to help others. But I don't know that I am ready for that quite yet. Maybe my continuing conversion process would be easier for me. I don't know. How nosy are you?

Here it is 5:15 and we still haven't done the 12 Days of Christmas lapbook or practiced piano. Time to make dinner now - Joe and I have a date to go to the outlet mall. I am in the market for a dutch oven and Hana Anderson has a big sale. Any suggestions? Is Le Creuset worth the $$$?

Belated Acknowledgments!

Because I often forget to say the obvious and get too involved in the details ~

Thanks be to God for His protection last Thursday. Accidents tend to make one realize that God spares lives for a purpose!

Thanks to my Guardian Angel to whom I pray every morning and sometimes a second time when I get in the van to drive.

Thanks to St. Gerard Majella whose feast day was that day and whose medal I was wearing at the time of the accident.

And thanks for all of your well-wishes and heartwarming comments. You are a lovely bunch and I wish I could gather you all in one room over cups of tea (or coffee)! Or each one of you individually would actually be more my style.

Blessings and prayers for you too!

Thankful . . .

That my children were at home with the babysitter.

That state troopers were right there, having already pulled someone else over.

That there was no one in the right lane when the guy sideswiped me (because the troopers were on the side of the road).

That the sideswiper did not push me into the troopers on the side of the road.

That there was a grassy embankment to land upon between the interstate and an on-ramp.

That one of the troopers saw this all happen, hopped into his squad car and pulled over the guy WHO KEPT ON DRIVING after he ran me off the road!!!

That the side-swiper got his car impounded, received several citations and may have his license revoked - preventing him from causing further accidents.

That I am okay - shaken up and sore, but otherwise fine.

That my husband took care of everything the next day - phone calls to insurance, arranging for a rental, taking the van to the body shop and giving me TLC.

That our rental is also a Toyota Sienna - only red instead of white.

That although I have to make time for chiropractor appointments, adjustments are also followed by a one hour massage. Billed to car insurance!

That I have someone new to pray for. Really. Who would do such a thing?

Dream Come True

Know what I miss the most as a home schooling mom? Being home alone. No one to interrupt. No meals to serve. No squabbles to referee. Just peace and quiet to think my own thoughts and catch up on the myriad of things that make up my to-do list.

I know someday I will have plenty of time when the children are grown and will long for the joyful chaos that is my now life but -- just for today I get my wish. My husband has gone with the children, all the children, to his parents for the day!

I am home alone.

Will I know what to do with myself? Yes!

My first priority is to do much needed planning for the coming school year. Not that I haven't pulled a few late nights to get started on that, but today I hope to sketch out our Catholic Mosaic and seasonal reading schedule. Some of these books are too long to read in a day and some feast days fall so closely (like Archangels, Guardian Angels, St. Therese and St. Francis) that we will need to either skip some or start some early.

I also hope to get to some Office Big Box store to make all the copies I need. Wonder how many that will be.

I wish I could devote the entire day to planning because I love to plan. I love planning more than implementing! Love the anticipation. But before I settle in with a cup of tea (or coffee because watching the Olympics has left me sleep deprived) I also have the following to do:

1. Catch up on laundry. Five loads.
2. Catch up on blogging. At least make a draft of "T" week. Maybe more posts if I get my other work done.
3. Errands: buy birdseed because moths got into our stash in the garage, do some grocery shopping for things I didn't want to buy a big $10 package of at Costco, get some things at Target but only what is on the list because otherwise the "misc." category of the budget is scary.
4. My dear husband suggested I could mow the lawn as well. He was joking. It's almost a half acre and has to be bagged, etc.

Other things I dream about doing but might not have time for:

• go for a walk
• or a bike ride
• or dust off the roller blades
• pull weeds in the yard
• take a nap
• soak in the tub
• listen to the CDs from the Family Centered Learning Conference that came a few weeks ago
• write thank you notes to various kind people in my life
• update the baby book - when did she start walking?
• call my mom
• call my nieces to wish one a happy birthday and the other a happy graduation day

Well, there's always time tomorrow, depending on where we go to Mass.

What is on your weekend to-do list?

Happy Belated Feast of Saint Benedict

Where does the time go in the summer and why is it so hard for me these days to get to our usual saint day celebrations?

We prayed for his intercession all week and intended to at least read The Holy Twins today but never got to it.

And I totally missed out on all these great ideas on the 4Real board.

Well, there's always the the feast of St. Scholastica in February.

What happened instead? We had a buying club delivery followed by putting away all the food and the monthly reorganization of the pantry. Finishing up "Q" week. Laundry. Making gingerbread cut out cookies for Q, R, S, T, U and V. Lunch. Dishes.

My husband works from home on summer Fridays (due to traffic) so I was able to leave the kids at home cleaning the bathrooms while I took the baby on errands.

The homeschool store to ask if I should be worried about my 6yo daughter's reversals

She said not to worry. What do you think?

The library to pick up books for "R" week and the stragglers from "P" week.

The liquor store for some organic white wine. Mental note - someday when we are ahead in the checkbook, go on a Wednesday for the 20% discount on a case.

Target. I actually didn't buy much here today for a change. I was looking for a toy lawn mower so that Dino could "help daddy" tomorrow but they must be out.

The bank for the kid's allowance and mommy and daddy's fun money. The fun money thing is a new to us. Last time I ordered some things I have been wanting from Chinaberry though I think this time my fun money might have to go here.

Back home for the baby's nap and supervising the kids in the kiddie pool on this hot and steamy day. Rice and beans for dinner. Purple cow for dessert. A puppet show for after dinner entertainment. A visit to the basement as a strong thunderstorm passed.

I fell asleep early while my husband did the bills. Now I can't sleep. I have been wanting some unexpected blogging time. I guess this is it. Thank you St. Benedict!