First of all, I'm sorry to say, there will be no pictures with this post because (sob) my camera has just bitten the dust. I'm in a state of shock - or perhaps withdrawal, lol - and I'm trying not to look out the windows for fear I might see something I desperately want to photograph.
Strangely, it's been a day for things breaking:
- The phone charger isn't working.
- The vacuum cleaner hose has split open.
- The kitchen faucet hose is unable to retract; it's lying like some slain silver snake in the sink basin.
- Ants have built a nest in the air conditioner. (Actually that's a long standing battle, but it bears mentioning here.)
Well, enough of all that. I thought instead of focusing on the negatives (ahem, any longer) I would write a bit about what we did today. Because it was a great day, all in all, and really, all that matters is that my family is healthy and there's a roof over our collective heads. The rest of it will all shake out in the end.
So, our day ...
- Began around 5:00 a.m. which is considered sleeping in if you are Earlybird or one of his parents. Coffee was brewed and the Globe arrived. By 6:30 all the boys were up and about. I ran out to fill the birdfeeders before Bill left for work (trying hard not to notice any neat bugs or new blossoms).
- After breakfast (waffles), Earlybird and I got down on the floor and talked about the trains in a book. He's especially impressed by the Santa Fe right now.
- I kept a close eye on Midget, our diabetic cat who was quite ill last night. He seems OK today.
- I lit a candle and prayed for some special intentions.
- I debated over my hair appointment today - keep it long or cut it short? No one had advice; no one seemed moved to vote one way or another. That's what you get for having all boys, lol.
- By 9(ish) we were onto math. Bookworm (who has decidedly different feelings for arithmetic than does his mother) was positively giddy. ("Graph paper? ALL RIGHT!") Crackerjack worked on the concept of a quarter to and a quarter past.
- Earlybird was given an entire bucket of Backyardigans 3-D foam stickers to peel and arrange on several sheets of paper. What possessed me to give him the entire bucket of 400 stickers at one time I cannot say.
- On to spelling - CJ had a page left in this week's lesson; BW had already finished his. So he was given a Globe article to read and write about in his journal.
- CJ read the last chapter in Dinosaurs before Dark and then wrote a few sentences about the book in his journal.
- EB drew letters with colored pencils in his notebook.
- While the boys worked I finally had a bit of time to close down PBSkids.org and check my email, log on to 4Real, etc.
- Unloaded the dishwasher and started a banana bread. EB helped.
- Washed the edges of the kitchen floor (flour dust, sugar crystals and mashed banana). Caught and released a small spider.
- Washed the last cup of coffee off the kitchen window screens (thank you, Earlybird) using the faucet hose to spray directly through the open windows onto the deck. Seemed like a good idea at the time, until the hose got stuck and wouldn't go back in. Warned everyone not to use the kitchen sink because it would spray all over if they did.
- Changed laundry.
- Read aloud another chapter of The Hardy Boys.
- Talked about Saint Anthony, whose feast day it was.
- Spent 10 minutes observing the feeders; BW wrote about the rose-breasted grosbeak and CJ drew what he saw.
- BW read Taggerung his latest Redwall selection.
- CJ drew Pokemon characters.
- Earlybird and I watched the banana breads baking and practiced middle consonants. Then we watched the rain for a while, opened the window and smelled the rain. We next walked into the kitchen and talked about how good the breads smelled.
- Breads out, lunch ready. I read the new Heart and Mind magazine - made a note to return to the architecture unit study for closer inspection.
- Changed laundry and jumped in shower for five minutes.
- Mum arrived to babysit. Made coffee and left her with the boys. Got stuck in traffic and was five minutes late to hairdresser's.
- Decided on a shorter do for the summer.
- Arrived home; Mum and older boys watching Matilda, Earlybird asleep.
- After mum left, watched Jewel of the Earth, a Nova special about dinosaur DNA.
- Boys practiced a new game they made up - missile tag.
- Tidied up house, started supper (leftovers)
- Bill home, suppertime!
Well, that's all for today (as best I can remember!). Tomorrow's Thursday which around here means Tea and a Craft! :)
