7 Quick Takes

One

It sounds like everyone is awake in their beds just hanging out instead of getting up. WONDERFUL! I have no idea why. Usually the children rise up from their beds  as one to fling themselves on me whining and complaining about how bad the day is going to be and about how no good thing ever comes to them. Its possible they aren't getting enough sleep.

Two

Wish I had had the presence of mind to take before and after pictures but I didn't KNOW Gladys would spend her nap time cleaning her room which has been repeatedly trashed by Marigold who every day is less a pretty little golden flower and more a complete and wretched menace with a sarcastic and nasty gleam in her eye. Mind you, Gladys is still three, and small for three. But she made the bed, hung clothes, organized the closet, put books away AND made it look pretty. Elphine and I both gave her money because we didn't know what else to do, it was such a big help.

Three

The day before yesterday I taught her, Gladys, to fold kitchen towels and put them away in the drawer. Nobody else is interested in being around when I'm folding laundry in case of accidentally learning how--knowing sensibly that once they know how to do it, it will become a permanent job, and therefore staying far far away from the whole activity.

Four

But yesterday I didn't fold anything or even get out of bed. Well, I got out of bed twice--once to yell down the stairs at the children, and once to answer the front door. I was So Sick. Over the course of Elphine's birthday I became more and more clouded and full of a horrendous head cold (contracted by a very cute baby in the nursery at church so it was probably worth it) until by the end of the day I was unable to speak above a whisper. So I just didn't get up. Spent the day trolling the home school feed on twitter and ended up making a very detailed weekly plan for the Entire Year--so detailed as to coordinate poetry, music, science, art, history, literature--everything. I'm so surprised. I mean, I meant to sort of try to do something like that but I thought I would fail after trying because it would be so impossible.

Five

So today, after a serious shower and tooth brushing because I coughed so much during the night that I actually threw up (AGH) I am going to take it to the next level and actually photocopy everything I need for the entire year and organize it in order in binders or something. I've heard that it is not only a good idea but possible to do this but I didn't believe it.

Six

And, after such a good rest, I'm going to finish up the school room. Home schooling from this angel always looks like a breeze. Oh yeah, I'll educate my children at home and bake everything from scratch and keep a clean house. It'll be great. We'll have a good time. The children will be so lovely. And then, of course, in February you decide it was a bad idea and that death would have been a better choice.

Seven

But after this last year of teaching proper school and getting all the kids in the car every day by 7:30 and giving birth and nursing a baby and taking on more house stuff because Matt broke his foot and coping with a flood and having to unpack all our stuff in the middle of the year and getting every possible sickness in the catalog of possible sicknesses, home schooling seems like a marshmallow cloud of vacation. Its all in your vantage point. The worst thing about having this many children is finding out how lazy you were before and how much more work you're capable of doing. I mean, me, not you. I don't know how many kids you have.

Have a great weekend and go check out Jen!