Panic has set in. Must spring clean house. That is all.

A morning dentist appointment for a filling for DS was cancelled because the Dr is sick. So I am using the morning to get a sewing project done then we'll do school lessons this afternoon as it was originally scheduled for today. Then we have a few errands to run and we are not going to in-laws tonight so i have to make dinner. We've done read aloud already and a lively science debate over breakfast that was so detailed, I'm pretty sure any self-respecting homeschool parent would count it as science for the day. ;)

Ummm... no that sounds absolutely lovely. If I lived in driving distance of a beach I would do that for sure! Sigh. Maybe someday...

Busy day here today. Appointments this morning for ds's asthma/ allergies checkup and the baby's 12 month checkup. Then a quick run to the grocery store before we run out of TP!!! School work this afternoon and evening out of the house activities. Whew! I'm going to need that coffee, Sahamamama! ;) Gotta run and get this crew dressed and out the door. Have a great day everyone!

Sahamamama- is the coffee for you or Jean? ;) Jean- ((hugs)) that sounds so tough. Does the state give her any accommodation for LDs with the standardized tests? Slow Monday here. Only dd's math and ds's prek done. I think the baby is experiencing a growth spurt or something because he's been very high needs today and the past few days. We'll hit spelling, writing, and piano practice and call it a day. I have several phone calls to make and some errands this afternoon. So it's not going to be The Best Homeschool Day Ever. But that's okay. They can't all be awesome, right?

It stings just reading your post. In my case, it was a huge personality clash. My parent didn't understand me at all and didn't put effort into trying to meet me in the middle. There was a lot of strain in the relationship. I was the better arguer since I was coming at it with a logical approach and the parent was coming in with emotion. Parent didn't like loosing the argument and in hindsight I should have not engaged but that is not something a teen understands the value of. Anyway, to this day, everyone treats me just the same way they did when I was 15 and re-hashing all the same stories. My sister really loves those stories because they make her look like the golden child. I finally leveled with her privately and in a much larger conversation about it, I finally asked her if she thought I was that same person? She said no of course not. I then told her that it was extremely hurtful to have to hear how ugly I made things back in the day and I was growing tired of jumping through hoops to prove I am not that person anymore. She really had no idea I felt self conscious about it and she hasn't brought up any of it since or participated in the conversations of my other family members when they bring it up. It's been huge. I am really glad I said something. I have yet to say anything to the rest of them. FIL has one story about me from when dh and I were dating. I hate it. His side of the story is much worse than what happened before he entered the story. But I don't want to get into it. So people only hear his side. I finally had it a few months ago and saw he was working up to the story in a group that hadn't heard it yet and I cut him off. "Nope. sorry, folks! You're not hearing this story tonight." Fil looks at me shocked. "What? Why not?" I said "that was 15 years ago. I was practically a kid, I've outgrown it. I don't want my kids to hear it. We're all moving on with our lives." Some liquid courage may have been at play that night. ;) He told dh the next day he was just having fun and didn't know it upset me. Dh reinforced me by saying if he knew what was good for him, he'd let the story die. We'll see at the next dinner party if he took us seriously. So I share my story to say, if you can be compelling, and really allow the family member to see your pain, its worth a shot to say something. I feel for you though, truly. It sucks.

In addition to what's been mentioned, you can also have lists for multiple stores. I have a list for the store closest to my house, one for the discount store, and one for the bulk buy membership store.

Yup, Plan to Eat.

We gave ds a half of a Flintstones chewable vitamin daily. There are several varieties, we chose the one with the most iron in it. His level was rechecked in 3 months and it shot right up well into normal range. That might work if your kiddo doesn't like the liquid drops.

Yesterday we just had a slow PJ day. Did the school work, chores, and laundry routines without paying attention to the clock. I did a huge purge in the school room last night while dh watched the baby. In school news, a few weeks ago, I switched the spelling lesson routine and we are no longer doing Spelling Workout as written. I made the spelling practice days more interactive and less repetitive (as much as spelling can be anyway). It's going really well. She is retaining better and remembering correct spellings in her "books" she writes in her free time, an element that was not present before the change. Library day today although, we aren't going to make it in time for storytime for DS. We'll try again next week.

Dh bought me Ree's new cookbook, Dinnertime. The whole family has loved every recipe I've made from it.

MeaganS- good for you and dd on the test!!! That took a lot of dedication and hard work for you and your dd. I'd be dancing in the street over that accomplishment. Critter- are you getting smoke in the air from the Oklahoma wildfires? I've wondered if some of that might blow our way. Hope ds feels better quickly and it doesn't work it's way through the whole family. I've been keeping up with reading and liking the posts this week but never had time to update myself. Even when rocking the baby to sleep, I've been working on other projects. The super busy part of our week is over and we are exhausted! We now have a treatment plan and payment plan (ouch!) for dd's braces. A few big events on the calendar are checked off and now I need to get this house back in order. It fell apart from all the coming and going. School work has still been going. Dd was practicing spelling words while ds helped me make dinner Monday evening. And she was doing math on a stool in the bathroom while the boys were in the tub Tuesday afternoon but its getting done! Where there's a will, there's a way, right?!

Critter- thanks for sharing your language path. I think dd would love the challenge. I'll be mulling this over for a while. Sahamamama- good for you not letting the organizing project derail lessons. That is something that would have thrown my day completely out of whack. Jean- I hope your new medicine works well for you! Regular lessons here today. I am still struggling with tiredness. We have a play date this afternoon at someone else's home for a nice change but I will most likely be splurging on a coffee drink on the way to help me get through it. Dd noticed the cursive alphabet at the back of her spelling workbook yesterday and spent a decent amount of time practicing her cursive letters. She has terrible print so I've dreaded starting cursive but she really seemed to be into it. I could see her looking at it more as art and wanting the letters to look pretty. So I guess I need to find something to teach her cursive that she'll enjoy. Suggestions are welcome. :)

Dh would think I was the best wife ever if I did this! :D

Critter- I'm with mama25, I love seeing your plans. Makes me excited for what we can do in future. What grade level were your students when you started French and Latin? Sahamamama- we need an early night too. But with the fishing excursion Monday, regularly scheduled activities last night, and dinner at my in laws tonight, we won't be getting to bed on time until tomorrow night!! Hopefully that will be the first of 5 consecutive nights of on time bedtime. I'm exhausted and the kids are too. Dd is crying about EVERYTHING, which is a classic sign she's overtired. I'm hoping they'll just put on a movie at PaPa's and relax tonight. Mama25- what did the frog legs taste like???!! Today, we've done our morning chores and dd has done independent reading, grammar, copywork, spelling, and 1/2 of her math lesson. Ds and I did some preK together practicing writing his name. Dd is jealous because his name is only 4 letters. She keeps telling him he better not complain about writing his name. Ha-ha! After lunch, we'll finish the math lesson and I'll do some reading aloud for history and our current chapter book. Will have to fit piano practice in between baby naps. I just have to ask you all: Why in the world was I trying to do science and history every day??? I structured my planner for both daily because just my state requires science and social studies. I never thought any more about it. I have read countless homeschool books and articles. I've been reading the wisdom on these forums for years. It never dawned on me that I was doing exactly what everyone said not to do!! I think I did try a block schedule last year in 1st grade but pregnancy caused us to go more unschooling so I never really followed through with the block schedule. I feel like our days are so much lighter and less rushed now that we are only doing one or the other. Freedom!!! I guess my point is keep sharing the great advice and eventually we'll hear you. ;)

I saw that episode and had a major eye roll moment. She kept going on and on about how special it was. Barf! Like happiduck, I must admit I have a little chalkboard sign up that says " Home Sweet School" My family thinks I'm crazy for hs'ing and I'm giving up my personal identity and blah blah blah. I like having a little reminder up for guests that we chose this lifestyle, we love this lifestyle so if you have a criticism, buzz off! :D Plus, it excuses the towers of books and paper everywhere. ;)

The kids and I sent little Caden a card! They enjoyed doing it. We hope it cheers him up. :)

I have to ignore the clock this week and just let everyone's bodies adjust naturally to the time change or I'll drive myself crazy forcing it. So this morning, kids are just now finishing breakfast and doing morning chores but on the upside, they've had a good chunk of free play, baby has already had his first nap and I've swept and mopped the kitchen. Up next is school lessons, a late lunch, baby's 2nd nap then a trip to PaPa's pond for fishing with friends. So sorry you are dealing with doctors appointments right now, Jean.

Thanks for the suggestions and links, ladies! I forwarded them to my friend.

My big two have exactly the same dark blonde as dh. In the summer all 3 get beautiful strawberry and golden highlights. Baby is platinum blonde right now but I suspect it will end up similar to the others as he gets older. I'm the only brunette in the house. All the kids looks so much alike and so much like dh, not just the hair. Everyone, from family and friends to photographers and total strangers, tell me they are sorry for me that none of them look like me. I say I'm not! I think dh is smoking so I'm thrilled our kids look like him! :D

The most recent dinner I took to a friend who had a baby a few weeks ago was enchilada casserole (with green enchilada sauce so it's not spicy) with a container of refried beans dressed up with milk, lime juice, cheese and scallions, and a salad with add ins like tortilla strips, black olives, shredded cheese, guacamole, carrots, cherry tomatoes, and chipotle ranch dressing. Other hits have been: -BBQ meatballs with rice, steamed veggies and a friut salad. My favorite is the honey lime fruit toss on the Dole website. -Pioneer Woman's chicken salad in a container with a bag of slider rolls from the grocery store bakery and a bag of kettle chips. -homemade chicken noodle soup with an artisan loaf and a salad. -chicken pot pie filling "soup" sent with a bag of bread bowls from the grocery store bakery and a salad. -mild chili and cornbread -spaghetti and meatballs, garlic bread, Rich & Charlie's salad Is food a love language? I think it should be if its not. Anytime a friend or someone in our congregation is seriously ill or just had a baby, my first thought is "ooh, what can I make them?" I'm a total lame-o about most things but this is one area I love. :D

Aurelia- good to hear you and your dd are on the mend! Bzymama- we're practically neighbors! We live just a couple hours from Branson too! Every time we go, it's with a big group of extended family and all we do is SDC. I strongly dislike theme parks. :( I keep telling dh I want to go just our family for the weekend to explore the other sights. The baby kept getting worse so I took him to the DR this morning and he has RSV. :O 3 babies and first time to deal with this particular bug. Dr said 5 more days of misery. Dd has gotten nothing done for school work except free reading. Baby cries and coughs constantly. Wants to be held constantly. I feel like I haven't spent any quality time with the bigger kids. Dh has been playing games with them after work, making dinner with them and doing their bedtime routine and stories. I'm missing out on all of it! I know baby needs me and I do feel really bad for him, he's so miserable. I just miss my other kiddos! Hopefully, tomorrow I can get my act together enough to guide dd through a few lessons.

Saturday morning we were getting ready to leave the house and the baby coughed. I said "uh oh. That's trouble." Dh said I was over reacting. Everyone coughs. Ha! By Saturday night, it was a full blown virus and dh was setting up the humidifier in the baby's room while I bit my tongue and didn't say anything about the accuracy of my prediction. He's still coughing, runny nose, super cranky. He fell asleep in my arms a few minutes ago and I don't have it in me to move him. He hasn't slept well at all the last few days. So I think school work will be limited to what dd can do without me. She's had her nose in a book all morning so that's something.

Storytime again at the library, new library books, lunch out (ds earned it with good attitude) and afternoon school work with dd is done. I should be leaving for the grocery store right now but I do NOT feel like it. Baby has managed to shimmy out of his pants and socks, which says to me "not going anywhere." Jean- glad you resolved the testing issue! That has to be a relief. Stephanie- enjoy your trip! We are planning a trip to NY in 2018 and we are thinking of extending it a few days to do DC too. Crazy advance planning... not my idea. There are many reasons for that all to do with extended family traveling with us. We have plenty of travel happening between now and then without PaPa Precision. :D Soror- take care of yourself. You don't want to get yourself too run down. :) Sometimes everything collides in one week on the calendar and it's unavoidable. I have a week like that at the end of the month. Have a great weekend everyone!

Yesterday was a blur of phone calls and drama with math and science shoved in between. So glad to put that day to bed. Today, I was in the kitchen all morning making dinner for a friend that just had a baby. Pbs kids baby sat the 4yo, and the 7yo baby sat the infant. Dinner and baby gift were delivered after lunch and we had the rest of the afternoon to ourselves. Read aloud, math, science, for dd, and writing practice for ds since he wanted to label some drawings he did. He's learning letter formation through words like "alien" and "turbo booster." :D