Going Through the Week

Last week I told you some plans about what we might do on Friday. Well, they didn't all happen. Daddy and I did go to the scrap yard first thing in the morning. After that Daddy went to work and the campers went outside to play for awhile until Daddy came home and he and I left again. We went to a quick lunch with just the two of us (a small date that we sometimes need and enjoy) and then went to a garage sale and grocery shopping. We picked up several large binders for a dollar each at the garage sales and I was able to pick up a three hole punch while at the grocery store. That means that I got my entire planner for next year all laid out and ready to use. I printed off some worksheets that I found online for some curriculum we'll be using next year for the girls (we'll be using the Prairie Primer) and I just looked for worksheets for the first book in the series. A little planning now will save me a lot of time next fall. I also printed off a few science things from The Good and The Beautiful curriculum page for use this summer so that we do some science during the summer other than just nature studies ...which really is enough to study, but I like more and more things sometimes. We had Taco Bell for supper as it just opened two days ago here in our town and I didn't really feel like cooking supper this night. The campers played outside until about eight when they came in to take their medicines and have quiet time reading before bed. We've recently reinstated quiet reading from 8:30 in the evening until bedtime, which has really been making a difference in how quickly that the campers fall asleep. Bedtime was at 9 this night as Daddy and I both wanted to be in bed by midnight and often times it takes the campers upwards of an hour and a half to fall asleep ... unless they've been outside or working for the majority of the day and then they fall asleep in what seems like five minutes!


Saturday started as every other day does around here. The campers woke up, did their chores, and then ate breakfast. Then it was time for Daddy and I to go and pick up just a few things we were missing in order to build our shed ... like screws (those are really important for putting things together). Then everyone was outside when we got back. The girls literally played with their friends from the neighborhood all day long while ECJ helped Daddy and I build the walls to the shed. We were outside from 11 am until 8 pm ... yup, nine whole hours in one day. We didn't use blueprints for building the shed, simply worked off plans that were in Daddy's head. We used entirely recycled and repurposed materials for the shed. As you can see it's made out of old deck wood (from a friend's deck that they took down) and old metal siding (that Daddy and I found while scrapping). It's about 6 foot by 8 foot and is definitely big enough to handle all of our outside storage needs, including three bikes and three scooters for the campers. I think we did a really awesome job and I'm just in love with my new shed. We also managed to pick up some "oops" paint and stain from our local hardware store (about $300 worth that we only paid $25 for total) and among the colors of paint there's one that will compliment the stain color so I'll be painting the metal and staining the wood after it's all built. I can't wait to begin using it so we put all of our supplies to finish it off inside the shed to store them.

On Sunday we were bad and skipped mass. We woke up later than planned and just didn't make it on time. So, Daddy and I went to the next town over to get roofing supplies for the shed and some more dirt for his work. But, instead of working on the shed we decided to let Daddy think and plan for the roof a bit more and spent our afternoon as a family doing fun stuff instead. The fun stuff included going to a cider mill about sixty miles from the house, taking a short walk (it was in the 90's y'all), and then going scrapping. We stopped halfway through for some play time at the park and some frozen drinks. Then we finished filling up all at one house where some kind gentlemen were getting rid of a TON of items. So many items in fact that we had to go back the next day to pick up the rest of them! We were done scrapping earlier than normal and got home in time for the campers to have a game of catch with the neighbor kids, well Peanut played Littlest Pet Shops with her friend from next door instead of playing catch. Then they came in and took showers and baths. Supper was a quick fix for them of spaghetti o's and a desert of vanilla ice cream, Daddy and I were too hot to be hungry.

Monday we got started early in the day to try to beat the heat. Daddy went off to work to spread dirt and grass seed. I transplanted the last two tomato plants (the ones we grew from seeds, since the store bought ones were already planted), got meatballs browned and put in gravy in the crock pot for summer, and caught up on this blog. The girls picked some fresh greens for Sugar Baby, their rabbit, and then Peanut picked our first ripe strawberry and ate it. Pronouncing it "super good!" The girls then continued to play outside and ECJ worked on taking apart the scrap that we'd collected from the night before. I washed dishes and folded a load of laundry. We try to keep as much as we can get done before noon on hot summer days as we do not have central air. Two window air conditioners are all that we use along with fans all summer long to keep cool and when the temperatures are in the 90's as they're supposed to be all week ... you simply don't want to move too much in the hottest part of the day. When Daddy got home from work he helped ECJ finish taking apart the scrap and then he and I went to the scrap yard. The campers ate lunch and played some video games while we were gone since it was close to the hottest point of the day when we left. After which Daddy and I went to pick up scrap from two houses (which filled our truck again) that we had scheduled for pick up this day ... one from yesterday and one from last week. After it began cooling off a bit outside the campers went back outside to play with the neighbor kids, everyone being very excited that Thursday is the last official day for public schools around here and that means lots of fun summer time fun with their friends all day long every day.

On Tuesday we all got up and did our regular morning routines. ECJ went out to break down scrap after his breakfast and chores were done, the girls and I did their Language Arts and Math lessons, and Daddy went off to work. The girls and I were finished inside of an hour which they were really happy about because the public school kids only have half days for the rest of this week! So they changed out of their pajamas and went out to play with their friends. ECJ promised to do his school work while Daddy and I went to the scrap yard so he got some fun time in too. After Daddy got home from work he and I loaded up the truck again, with the help of ECJ, and went to the scrap yard to return the metal that we'd found. After which we went to the store and bought a deep freeze for the house to replace the one that we sold two years ago. Yes, we've reached the point of needing a deep freeze again. Then it was home to bring in the deep freeze, quickly telling the campers what we needed them to do while we were gone (reminding ECJ of his school work still needing to be completed) and then we were off scrapping again. It took a little while to fill up the truck with a light load and then we picked up dinner and headed home. Pizza was a big hit as usual (we really are planning on eating more meals cooked at home again soon, we just keep being so very busy lately it seems like pizza is happening a lot). After supper it was bath time/shower time, medication time, reading time, and bedtime. Whew!

Wednesday morning we all got up very early. Daddy unloaded the truck because he needed it for work, there was only a little bit of scrap to be taken apart so ECJ did that really quickly. While the girls did chores and ate breakfast ECJ helped me carry an old dresser out to the curb ... we'd been using it for homeschool storage in the kitchen/dining area and that's where our new deep freeze is going to be living. After that ECJ ate a quick breakfast and then we worked on cleaning the house. We were going to do lessons this day but Daddy and I decided that instead of rushing to do every little thing that needed done we'd take the rest of this week off of lessons and just pick up again next week. The brilliance of homeschooling is that we can do just that, and the fact that we work through the summer means that I don't have to feel guilty when we do. The campers did each write a letter to their penpals which we counted as Language Arts today. I tried to get as much of the house back organized before Daddy came home as I could. When Daddy got home we loaded the truck back up and the campers and off we went to the scrap yard. After that Daddy, ECJ, and I started putting the roof on the shed ... we need some more materials so it's not finished yet. Then Daddy, the girls, and I went out scrapping for a long long time. We stopped for chili dogs and ice cream for dinner while we were out and stopped at a local park for the girls to play for a little while. ECJ cooked himself some soup and a sandwich for supper. When we were finished scrapping we came home late. After such a long and busy day the campers were quick to go to sleep once we got home and they had their medicine.

So, we come to Thursday and I'm typing this in the morning because we won't be home until late again today. Our plans for today include some baths/showers for the campers this morning since they were playing out in the dirt yesterday afternoon. We'll be returning some movies to the library later on today and also going to the scrap yard. After that Daddy and I will be picking up the campers to go to Grandma and Papa's house to help them clean up the house and yard, have some supper, and possibly go scrapping while we're down there (we might not scrap tonight, just depends on how Daddy is feeling). Daddy's at work right now and the campers are all eating breakfast and watching a Pokemon DVD while I type this. We have no set plans for the weekend other than helping Grandma and Papa each day until everything is spotless. Major spring cleaning y'all!

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