[Absolutely exhausted at the end of every school day]

Both my kids either are or have been very high needs since birth, and my husband works in emergency medicine, so I know how you feel. I am the only one who is organized. It's very difficult most of the time.

 

For nutritious meals, I would try to make double and save it if you can. Some food freeze well for reheating later--if you have time, roast a whole rack of sweet potatoes, and then toss them into the freezer with the skins on (into a freezer bag). They reheat readily and taste like baked sweet potatoes instead of microwaved or steamed sweet potatoes. Think plain food...meat (anything from an egg, tuna, burger, crumbled beef, leftover roast, etc.), steamed veggie, starch (rice, potato, whatever--I can't eat wheat). Fruit, nuts, crackers, cut up veggies (carrots, peppers, etc.) for snacks. We eat very plain food most of the time, and we live. It's all whole foods--you don't have to be gourmet to eat whole foods. We eat a variety of veggies. We get sick of veggies if we try to eat two different veggies at each meal. So at lunch, we'll just eat a huge portion of one veggie at a meal, and then have two veggies with smaller portions at another meal. Bagged frozen veggies go straight into the steamer basket, and my kids can turn it on. Soup is a friend--you can simmer most soup on the stove all day long or an hour before dinner. So, you can add the ingredients at pretty much any point you find the time to prep them--maybe you can brown meat and onions (right on the bottom of the soup pot) at one point, and add water or broth. Later, you toss in a can of diced tomatoes. While the kids snack, you cut up a potato or two. Finally, you toss in a bag of peas and carrots an hour before dinner. Add a starch and a salad, and you're done. These are all great meals for kids to learn to cook. Dishes are fairly minimal this way. We rinse the pot and steamer basket between meals and then use it for supper. Then it gets washed after supper. If you are cooking potatoes or something over a big pot, consider finding a stackable steamer that will fit on top, and then you toss it on top of the soup or potatoes when it's time. IKEA makes sets like this. The kids eat a variety of things, but I try to guide them toward oatmeal and yogurt. There are so many unsweetened kinds out there now that sugar content isn't a factor anymore--you can even get quick cooking steal cut oats in packets.

 

I am assuming that you are doubling up as much as you can with your 6th and 7th graders, especially in content subjects.

 

At some point, something has to give, and maybe it will give on it's own in a positive way by waiting things out. Otherwise, your husband may need to help solve the problem if his work is keeping him so busy. We finally found a sitter, and it's been really helpful. We don't always go out--sometimes she plays with the kids while we clean a closet or sort paperwork, but it's slowly easing the backlog. My husband isn't high needs, but he doesn't organize time all that well (not that I am the guru!), and his family never, ever felt the need to get on the same page about anything. So, just learning to communicate that he needs x time slots for exercise each week is a big help instead of announcing that he's going to exercise some really busy morning. He works all different shifts that are on various days and at various hours, so we can't even work off of a template for days with him and days without him--we'd have to have about 20 different  possible scenarios for his days off, lol.

 

Also, have you considered sending the 3 y.o. to preschool a couple of mornings per week? Depending on the work schedule, maybe hubby could even drop him off. I did that for a bit when my younger one was four, and we had just started homeschooling my high needs older one.

 

You've hit the nail on the head- I need to be more organized about meals and househould stuff. I'm so tired all the time though, that it feels like a huge, insurmountable thing, and it's easier just to stick to my habits, kwim? Even if developing some new habits would save me energy in the long run, it just sounds overwhelming right now. But I will definitely give some thought to small ways I could start working on this.

 

Yes, the 6th and 7th graders do history, geography, and science together, and also grammar since we do a lot of R&S orally or on the white board.

 

I have considered preschool many times, but my ds refuses to potty train so that's out for now.

 

I have sixth and seventh graders and a younger one and I couldn't juggle it all either. The older kids had to learn to cook and all three help with clean ups too. The older kids make grilled cheeses, heat canned goods, make crockpot Mac and cheese, crockpot lasagna, muffins, fried eggs - the easiest stuff. It has taken a big weight off of me to get them to help with at least one meal (sometimes two)on weekdays.

 

My kids do get their own breakfast and lunch and often get the 3 yr old some of whatever they're making. They know how to make oatmeal, eggs, pasta heat stuff up, etc. And they clean up after themselves. I'm not sure what else to change around here, but I'm giving it a lot of thought. The more I read responses and think on it, the more it seems like the problem is just me. I need to get some energy back and I need to streamline some areas of my life more.

[Absolutely exhausted at the end of every school day]

My ds stopped napping early on too, so I plunk him in front of the tv for 1 1/2-2 hours a day.  Someone can squawk about that, but oh well. His language scores are off the charts in speech therapy, so it clearly hasn't hurt him. He watches Calliou, Mr. Rogers, Magic School Bus, anything History Channel or Military Channel, Signing Time, that sort of thing.  For a 3 yo, definitely look into Signing Time.

 

You know we have an LC board...  It's possible to make assumptions and be floating the wrong label.  Dyslexia and adhd used to be lumped together as "minimal brain dysfunction" so there's a lot of overlap with symptoms.  

 

Hopefully the D will kick in for you and have you feeling more energized soon!   :)

 

My husband can be bad about putting ds in front of the tv, so I feel like he uses up all the tv time. I'm going to talk to him about that, what time ds does spend in front of the tube should be after school when I really, really need to sit and be left alone for awhile.

 

I will peek in to the LC board, I don't even know where to begin with testing but it's something I should probably do just so I know where we stand and can help my kids learn coping strategies.

[Absolutely exhausted at the end of every school day]

 I think that it is because I'm an introvert. I enjoy being with them, but by the time we are done I need a little space and quiet to recharge. The kids head to their bedrooms for about an hour and a half, I don't care what they do as long as they are quiet. I read, crochet or sew during that time. Occasionally I nap. And I usually end up recharged for the rest of the day. I don't know if that's helpful or not, but you definitely are not alone!

 

Starr, on 31 Jan 2014 - 08:08 AM, said:

There is a reason SWB recommends quite time in the afternoon. It's one of the best things we ever did

 

 

I would second the quiet time idea. That way you have 2 hours in the afternoon for quiet, recharging, pursuing a hobby, planning or whatever else you need time to do when you are awake and alert. You might find that that time allows for you to get a second wind and you are more productive in the evenings.

 

We had quiet time for years, but I don't know how to make time for that now and still get school done. And honestly, since my 3 yr old stopped napping at around 2, quiet time has been impossible anyway. It's  an area where I need to do some training.  I will think on this, it's definitely a big part of the problem, I am an introvert, and my dh works from home now too so I feel like I never get time alone.

 

I'm right there with you. by the time I get all three of mine through even the bare necessities, I'm toast. My husband makes dinner more often than not and does most of the grocery shopping too. The kids have a few chores, but because they still require guidance and supervision their chores are as much work for me as help. My hobbies too have take a back seat to school, i spend a few hours a week at choir and music rehearsals at church, that and a little some pleasure reading at bedtime are it.

 

I don't have a solution yet, but our next step is to push some school work to the evenings & weekends when Daddy can help so that i at least have more time to do fun things with the kids & am not just the taskmaster all the time. From there I'm hoping that i will regain some energy for hobbies of my own.

 

My husband can't help with anything. He has a new job with a big learning curve and a lot of demands on his time so he's not available. Our days sound very similar. I will be thankful that my older kids don't need much supervision for chores!

 

 

I'm tired too but have adrenal issues. Some things that help:

 

The crockpot. Prepping 2-4 entrees on weekend for the week. Prepping salad on weekend. Deviled eggs, tuna salad, things like that. Getting big bags of frozen veggies from Costco to steam for lunch/dinner sides (so yummy with hot dogs ;-)

 

What about incorporating photography into school? Takes beautiful pics of your kids (come take some pics of mine ;), of school in action using your skills. Be real artsy with it. Teach the older kids about the camera and skills. What a great skill to pass along and will be review for you. One half-hour lesson a week---go easy on yourself. :)

 

The crockpot was my best friend for a few years when my 3 yr old did not sleep much for the first 2 years of his life and I was barely functioning, and now we're so sick of my crockpot meals. I need to find some new ones, thanks for the reminder!

 

Yes, I did a 365 project and a lot of lifestyle photography and did take pics of our day to day, but I find it too distracting now, as my education was lacking and I have to actively pay attention, read ahead of my kids, work math problems with them, etc. And then my 3 yr old is excellent at getting into things the minute my attention is elsewhere. Usually when I have a minute between kids, I read to him or play with him so he doesn't feel left out all day. I've offered to teach my kids before and they have no interest.

 

OP- do you school year-round? Or try to fit it all into 9 months?

 

My dcs are still all little and I'm pregnant, so my exhaustion is of a different type, but back in October it became clear that I couldn't keep going at the pace I wanted. (The kids alternated breaks, but I was working 8a-6p; with barely a lunch and no time for dinner prep). Establishing kid chores (which you do already) helped a lot; but reducing our workload (eliminating redundant or mastered language arts work, for example, and focusing only on skills that truly needed practice) plus spreading our goals year-round really helped my energy level a lot. Now if only my 6 year-old could cook. I still haven't worked out a system to provide economical healthy family dinners for my carb-loving hyper-picky-eating dcs, and my DH just informed me he'd like to go paleo..... Sheesh. Love the idea, don't get me wrong, but we may have to hire a cook/nutritionist to satisfy everyone's needs, including my own sanity :-)

 

We school year round and always have. I try to make meals as easy as possible but then feel like they start lacking nutritionally.

 

Also have an almost 3 year old. Yes, also very exhausted at end of the day. It's good-tired, but very tired :)

 

I think that three year olds suck the life out of anyone.  (((hugs)))

 

Ha! Yes, I know it's going to be so much easier once he gets older! Of course, I've been telling myself that for 3 years now, since he was a hard baby from the beginning. My other kids were so much fun at 3, would sit at the table with us, loved Kumon books, etc. Not this kid, and that's okay because he's his own person and I love him as he is, but I don't know what to do with him! He loves to be read to and will sit for 45-60 minutes paying attention to stories, but I can't read to him all day since I need to work with the other kids. I read to him in small segments when the older kids are working on stuff, but that is never enough for him. He spends all day whining and begging us to play with him or read to him, or destroying things. I spend a lot of the day rotating activities for him that he gets bored with after 5 minutes.

 

Yes, sigh, the needy youngest.  Do you think you have some SN going on that need evals?  Definitely pursue the crockpot.  I've starting using a meal planning app on my iPad (brilliantly called MealPlan, you just type, drag, and drop) and that makes it a little more no-brainer for me.  Those two oldest kids can cook, so definitely teach them.  They could even tag team, one making the salad and the other cooking the meat, and switch either nightly or weekly.  Delegate out to them.

 

I use audiobooks on the iPad and enriching videos with my ds a lot.

 

On the photography, you could switch to shooting jpg for a while if you've been shooting raw.  Is it a dSLR?  Put a 35 or something kind of wide on and just have it out to shoot a pic a day.  Your kids are doing things.  Take pictures of them sleeping.  I keep my camera out in a basket, where I can always reach it.  

 

Are you taking vitamin D?  February is the WORST MONTH, so tell yourself that now.  You may need to cut back on some things or look at your academics to see if maybe pausing a couple things will let you get the rest finished in a more timely fashion.  I started a new D supplement, and it has been better for me.  It's by KAL and oil-based.  D can definitely help.

 

As far as evals, I'm keeping an eye on my 9 year old since he is crying over everything. I have always thought that he and my 11 yr old are mildly dyslexic. He still writes Bs backwards and catches himself and corrects it. My 11 yr old seems fine at adapting though, and is a strong and voraciosu reader and writer. My 9 year old I am trying some things with and will reevaluate in a few months. He is a very emotional type though and just cries easily.

 

I'll see if 3 yr old would sit and listen to audio stories.

 

It's a dslr. I do shoot RAW but don't spend a ton of time editing, my SOOC is fine for archival purposes of family memories. I always have my camera out and used to take photos of everything we did all day long, but I'm having trouble keeping our focus on school when I do that now. Honestly, I was involved in hard-core critique and workshops and classes so much last year that I totally burned myself out and don't even know where to begin with it again. I need some kind of project to get me going again, but am using all my brain cells for school at the moment!

 

I just started vitamin D a few days ago, I do think I have some deficiencies due to how sick I was with the flu and how tired I always am.

 

Check vitamin D and iron levels. When mine were low, I was exhausted all the time. We do the 2 hour break in the afternoon. It's not necessarily quiet time, but it's pursue your own interests time. The girls go out and play or play minecraft, etc... I make phone calls, read, etc... It helps.

 

Hopefully Vitamin D will make a difference for me soon!

 

I wish I could figure out how to work a break in, will do some thinking on that, but as it is, we're not done until 5:00 most days.

 

Thank you so much ladies, for all the encouragement and ideas!

 

[Absolutely exhausted at the end of every school day]

The kids need to cook and clean more!

 

My 6th grader makes dinner for the family (except me because of severe multiple food allergies) about once a week and my 3rd grader cooks dinner for the family about once a month. They make their own lunch often.

 

:grouphug:

 

They do a lot of chores- they wipe bathrooms, fold their own laundry, do dishes, and take care of the pets daily. But cooking is a great point! I just told my dh the other day that we need to start doing this, my kids have even asked if they can, they like the idea of being in charge of dinner once a week, and with 3 of them doing it that would save me for a good portion of the week! But I always forget and don''t make it part of the routine. Thanks for the reminder!

[Can Sonlight work within Classical Education parameters?]

What concerns me more than the 4 year cycle, is the lack of deeper questions, primary sources, and writing. I really like SL and have used it for a long time, but have moved away from it as my kids have gotten older. We tried Core F this year and it was such a failure, my kids hated it so much that we dropped it after a few months and have been using Project Passport with a lot of additional reading. Right now I'm debating Cores 6 and 7 (sorry, I never have gotten the hang of the letter names), and adding some primary sources, and if I can add in my own Socratic discussions and related writing assignments, or if it would be easier to use TOG.

 

Do you mind sharing the name of the thread at SL? I looked for it and couldn't find it, curious about the responses you've gotten.

[Absolutely exhausted at the end of every school day]

I feel a little exposed and embarrassed that I posted a whine.  I had the flu and it took me 3 weeks to recover, that's probably part of my problem right now. It's just a season and it'll get better. Our school routine is good.

[Absolutely exhausted at the end of every school day]

Is this normal? Our school days are so long now that my kids are getting older, (with my 7th and 6th graders), my 9 year old is so easily frustrated and cries over everything, and I also have a 3 year old who is going to be the death of me that I'm juggling in between school stuff. He is very high-needs and needs a lot of stimulation. I can't even summon up the energy to make dinner lately, all week my kids have had things like eggs for dinner or Applegate Farms hot dogs (I try to convince myself that those aren't as bad for them). I need to tweak some school stuff, but when I finally have time at the end of the day to look over things and do some planning, I'm just too tired and brain dead. I have a photography hobby that was the one thing I did for myself, but I have hardly taken even one photo in months, and I'm depressed that I'm going to lose all the skills I worked so hard on. But I can't keep up with homeschooling and household things, let alone a hobby.

 

Please tell me this will get better! Or ideas of what I can do to make things smoother. if you have any.

[Just for Fun: Which Programs That You Don't Need Are Calling Your Name?]

For some reason, I really want to buy Moving Beyond the Page 9-11 for my ds. It just looks like something he'd really get into. But I can't get past the price tag!

 

ETA: And also, it doesn't look realistic for us, as far as me spending that much time with just one kid when I can combine content subjects. But I still feel tempted.

 

 

[My poor sister has been trying to get home for 2 hours.]

Edited a little due to paranoia about personal info on internet:

 

I know someone who was on the freeway overnight, from 3:30 yesterday afternoon until 8:30 this morning.

[I had to put Luke down today (graphic content)]

I am so, so sorry. I had to put a cat to sleep at age 2 that I'd had since kittenhood because he had a horrible disease and was suffering. And it's a heartbreaking thing having to do that with such a young pet, it still hurts 5 years later. I'm sorry you're going through this.

[Birth sizes of your girls vs. boys]

Mine were:

 

8.5 lb (boy), 8 lb (boy), 9 lb (girl), 9.5 lb (boy), 9 lb (boy)

[Curious: In times of rude service. . . which companies are really good?]

All of my favorites have already been mentioned:

 

Target (though I think it varies by location)

Costco for sure, I love that place.

American Express

Amazon

Chick-fil-a

In-and-Out

Chipotle

Apple

 

Also, Gap/Banana Republic online, Boden, and Pei Wei. Oh, and Sonlight always has great customer service. In my experience, anyway. :)

 

Yes, I'm a good little consumer. ;)

 

I know this isn't helpful to anyone who doesn't live locally, but my library has the best, most helpful customer service ever, and the best childrens librarians ever. Also, when I call my city garbage department, I always speak to the nicest people. LOL. I really appreciate it though, it's amazing what a difference it can make to your day.

[Are you really different than you were 10 years ago?]

.

[How good of an education do you think you got?]

I don't think it was awful, but it wasn't great. I went to public school in Michigan. I feel that the best parts of my education I owe to my love of reading and a mom who was always willing to take me to the library.

[Bullying ... is this normal?]

Kids who bully happen in and out of school. Homeschoolers aren't immune.

 

 

Yes, definitely. My dd has always been homeschooled. All the neighborhood kids used to play together, homeschooled and public schooled, it didn't matter. Then it was like a switch was flipped once they were all in about 4th grade, and the group of girls my dd was hanging around with started bullying her and ganging up on her.

[Just in case you were wondering . . . my no- (or very low-) sugar experience]

Very interesting, thank you for posting.

 

I feel like my immune system has been shot ever since my youngest was born and hardly slept for two years. I get sleep now, but am often achey and fatigued and catch every illness there is. I need to change something, my diet is already pretty healthy, except for the sugar. I eat a little treat every night and am definitely addicted.

[Seriously considering a flu shot--I'm hearing flu is affecting healthy adults badly this yr.]

I am just getting over the flu, it's going on two weeks for me and I'm still a little weak and still have some junk in my head. I did get a flu shot this year, in October. According to the dr I saw, they discovered another strain after formulating the flu shot and I had recieved the one without this strain.

[Dinner for 7 ideas please :-)]

A taco bar where everyone can add their own toppings or pasta, salad, and bread are both cheap meals that can stretch well.

[Confess your unpopular opinion]

Maybe you need to step up your research?

 

Good idea! I'll make that a personal project for 2014. "Honey, you'll have to put the kids to bed tonight. I have important research to do."  :D

[Confess your unpopular opinion]

There are many microbreweries that are very good. 

 

I've tried a lot of beer, including microbreweries, and not liked it. But I'm sure there are some out there I would like that I haven't gotten to yet. ;) Good point though, I was thinking of large commercial breweries when I posted.

[Confess your unpopular opinion]

Nutella is disgusting.

 

I live in TX and I like it here. I like TX, yes I do.

 

Beer is good. But not American beer.

 

American cuisine in general is not very good.

 

I like wearing makeup, dressing up, and clothes shopping.

 

I like shopping in general.

 

I love Christmas.

 

I'd rather listen to Frank SInatra and Dean Martin than most modern music.

 

I think it's fine and normal to nurse a three year old.

[Magic Set]

The Melissa and Doug deluxe magic set is very nice, has lots of stuff, and wooden, solid pieces.

[How to regain your motivation… love of the job… i.e. homeschooling]

 So I don't believe I will ever fall out of love with homeschooling my kids - maybe because we've lived the alternative and appreciate the gift much more.

 

I wonder how long you've been homeschooling? I took my son out of public school in 4th grade due to issues there, so we have also experienced the alternative. Homeschooling is just a lot of work, and it's normal to have periods of burn out, especially if you've been at it a long time.

[anyone familiar with the game Skyrim?]

I've never played it, but I got it for my 18 yr old last Christmas and he says it's addicting because it's such an amazing game.

[What do I really need for Math In Focus?]

In case you haven't ordered, I used 1B-4A (so far, still using in 4th) without needing the teacher's manuals. I was new to Singapore thinking in 1B. It hasn't been a problem.

 

Thanks!