Making me a priority is hard sometimes...

    In the past few years, I have been successful at weight loss but put the weight back on. First, with a knee injury and then an arm injury. Both required surgery, a few months to recover and then physical therapy. To be honest, I stopped the arm PT early because I was doing more at home with my arm than what was happening at the hospital. Hello, groceries and laundry for 5 people!

I am at the point where I just wasn't feeling good. So, we reexamined our budget and rejoined the YMCA.  I'm starting the Couch to 5K program again (aka C25K) and doing weights 3 times a week. My right arm (the surgery arm) already feels a bit better and straighter after only a few weeks.

Yet, sometimes, I feel guilty. About taking time out of the day to work out. To take advantage of the child care at the Y during the week, this typically means heading in at the end of the day. And lets be honest, sometimes one just would rather veg out on the couch than strap on gym gear and go get sweaty.

Today, there was chasing the dog to spray him with a medicine for a rash on his stomach, 2 math quizzes to give, reading stories, rehearsing a play, music class, homework for the oldest and laundry....so much laundry (nudists may have the right idea here). Yet, I packed my gear in the car and after school pick up, a quick bite at McDs and then music class, we headed off to the gym. If the younger 2 had HW, I don't know if this would be as easy as their HW generally caused an insane amount of drama!

And now, at home, more laundry is going and I feel better for having gone! Now bring on bed time please!

Chaos and Perfection

    The past week, #2 and I have focused on her completing an annual exam. The state of NY requires homeschoolers to choose a test every other year, starting in 4th grade. Then every year, starting in 9th. She was downright indignant that #3 didn't have to test this year. What can I say kid? Life isn't always fair.

A friend commented that while she could see positive changes in my kids, her idea of school remains firmly rooted in the idea of desks, a teacher and a classroom. That's cool as that was my idea about it too and still is sometimes. #2 surprised me by saying she didn't think she wanted to return to school when she got older. I said ok, we'll see what happens when the time comes.

Some days are great and some days have me questioning my sanity and wondering if I can request a coffee/wine iv drip from my doctor! Today, is a good day so far. #2 finished her test while holding one of our cats. Then, they played on the computer and they are ending their day with constructing their own experiments. I'm not sure what they are doing but they are fully engaged and working both independently and together. We'll end the evening with a drum class for #3,  pizza for dinner, and a math lesson. For some reason, his math goes a lot smoother at night these days.

Understanding and Adapting

I came across this HBO documentary this morning. I had it up on the computer while everyone finished up their morning routine. I didn't make the kids watch it with me but didn't hide it either. As I watched, #2 came up besides me and hugged me. We talk a lot about dyslexia and how her (and her brother's) brain works differently. Not stupid but different. "It isn't fair", she says. "Other kids can just read but I can't."
She's right and I tell her that this is the truth but it isn't an excuse. Everyone has something they struggle with. Then we refocus on what her strengths are: She is learning to sew. She can dance and do flips and many other things.
She becomes quiet as she watches kids on the monitor talk about their struggles and victories. Then, we moved on to doing our work. And, she did not cry when she made a mistake or squirm away when it was time to work on handwriting or phonics.
It was a good learning day for her.

Yet, I look back and wonder if we did enough. Should we have read 4 books instead of 3 at bedtime when she was 2? Instead of letting her watch cartoons sometimes, should we have just kept in on PBS all the time? Classical music instead of hip hop or rock? Would she be better off in a regular school environment? What happens if we decide to homeschool #3? Who has many of the same difficulties but a totally different personality.

I wonder.....

Balancing Everything

Pictured above is a 3D puzzle globe that should function as a globe we can use for geography, history, etc. Until now, we've been using Google Earth, which is cool but not quite the same as spinning a globe in your hand. It's 540 pieces and we finished about a third of it today. Not bad considering that it arrived this afternoon!

I'm not sure what happened this morning but we had a weird vibe this morning so we lounged around. Then attended a community musical theater class. Upon returning, we opened the globe and that was the bulk of school for the day. We did do a science lab on the water cycle after dinner though! I'm finding that as mom and teacher, I have to balance when to push and when to let things loosen up a but. There isn't a buffer. There isn't a teacher to send her off to every day when there is a bad mood at home.

With the other 2, there is a balance of attention giving that I need to be conscious of now. Not to mention the house and other various life issues. I'm trying to figure out holiday shopping and other things that I used to do when all the kids were in school! And, I have to remember to take some quiet time or I am a lunatic by Friday night!

And yes, as I'm writing this, I'm surrounded by 500 baskets of clean laundry. I'll just buy another basket or 2.......