Actually Back to School

Friday we were supposed to go on our nature walk and start Family Time Fitness but instead we separated a bunch of scrap while Daddy was at work installing new lights in the hallways. I didn't want to put an exercise program on top of all the physical stuff that we'd already done outside this day (mainly because I was still tired even though I slept well the night before). The campers took advantage of the wonderfully warm weather (close to 80* this day) and played outside on their skateboards while the public school kids were in school. I folded a load of laundry and checked to make sure that everything was sorted and organized for the start of school next week, lesson plans done and all. Then I sat down and crocheted until Daddy got back from work. The campers came inside and Daddy and I left to go to the scrap yard. The rest of the day was used for relaxing and enjoying each other's company. Since I hadn't laid out anything from the freezer for supper we had a different kind of supper... YCJ and Peanut made pancakes for the campers to eat and I made fried zucchini for Daddy and I. Everyone got enough to eat and we enjoyed some chocolate chip cookies that Peanut baked (with me supervising) for desert ... well, some of us finished off Peanut's birthday cake as well.


On Saturday Daddy had an appointment out of town and then had to go to work. After breakfast and chores were done the campers and I took a walk up to the park which is about a mile away. We played for awhile, explored the trails for about forty-five minutes, and then played some more. After all that excitement we walked back home and the girls were playing outside while ECJ was doing some yard clean up ... he eventually asked YCJ to help him move a large piece of concrete and there was an accident. The concrete slipped out of their hands and landed on her right foot! After Daddy got home (she was able to move her toes but I was becoming worried about the swelling) ... which was only about forty minutes later ... we took her up to the emergency room. Four hours, one x-ray, and a very hungry girl later we find out that she has a hairline fracture in the top of her big toe on her right foot. She has to be careful not to bang it and wear shoes when she's up and about... keeping it elevated when she's sitting. This is not how we had planned to end our day.


Sunday we spent the morning asleep ... yup, we slept in way late and missed mass. That's ok ... it's not something that we do every week and Peanut and Daddy had gotten very little sleep all week long. The campers went outside to play while Daddy and I went and scrapped a nearby neighborhood really quickly, just kind of testing the waters for the day. We got a decent amount so we decided that we'd go visit Grandma and Papa for a little while and then go scrapping down there. Grandma surprised us with a full out Sunday ham supper, so Daddy and I left the girls with Grandma to help (ECJ had stayed home) and he and I went scrapping for a couple of hours. We came back just in time to eat a fabulous meal and then help clean up. After that we took the girls scrapping the couple of neighborhoods that we hadn't done, played at a park, and picked up some soda pop for the ride home (a special treat instead of the frozen drinks). Shortly after getting home for the night the girls were in bed after their usual bedtime routine and ECJ quickly followed. I took a relatively quick bath (under an hour for me is quick), put a quick load of laundry in the washer and dryer, and then relaxed until Daddy and I went to bed.

On Monday Daddy got up to go to work and I stumbled out of bed behind him, have I mentioned that I REALLY like my sleep? Quickly downing a cup of coffee I then stripped our king size bed and put it in the washer, remade the bed, and then folded all of the laundry from the dryer the night before. ECJ was up and taking apart scrap (there wasn't much to take apart as everything that we got was pretty much just bits and pieces of stuff). I woke the girls up while bringing their laundry to their room and then I scrubbed the bathroom floor. The girls got up and ate breakfast and then did their chores. ECJ finished outside and came in to do his inside chores. I switched loads of laundry because it was bed day ... you know, the day that you go around the house and change all of the bed sheets and what not? Yup, we do them all ... except for ECJ's bed because he's in charge of cleaning his sheets and room on his own, I don't feel the need to clean his linens since he's 15 and can do it himself. The girls then went and cleaned their room and ECJ did his after finishing his chores. I updated this post, drank some coffee, and then crocheted while waiting for the dryer to finish so I could switch loads and keep going (four loads of laundry this day, not counting the one in the dryer when I woke up). After Daddy got home he and I loaded up the truck and then went to the scrap yard. After the scrap yard we ran a few errands, picked up supper (Subway this night, nobody wanted chicken and dumplings), and then relaxed the rest of the night at home.

Tuesday Daddy got up early-ish and went to work, leaving the news playing. ECJ and Peanut were already up and I was drowsing in bed listening to President Trump talking about North Korea. Finally I got up and drank my first cup of coffee (which Daddy had poured for me before he left so it was right by the bed) and told Peanut to wake up YCJ. It was almost 11 AM! ECJ finished his inside chores really quickly and the girls ate their breakfast while I poured myself a second cup and got dressed. We were starting our lessons for fall this day and got started around 11:20 ... an hour later we had everything done besides History for the girls, Bible study with YCJ in her Chicken Soup for the Preteen Soul , and ECJ was working independently on his high school studies. That was also with Daddy coming home for a minute to run me to the store quickly and all of the campers working on their own for about twenty minutes. The girls were completely finished with school except for their independent reading by 1:30 PM and ECJ was nearly finished with his studies. We spent a LOT of time socializing during lessons today and that's OK ... sometimes lol. After Daddy got home we had an appointment in town and after that we went scrapping really quickly in the next town over, if we hadn't had the appointment we'd have driven down by Grandma and Papa's house again this day. For supper this day we had the before mentioned chicken and dumplings.

Peanut working on making herself
a bracelet from the kit Grandma gave her
for her birthday.

Wednesday, after Daddy got up and went to work, the campers and I got our day started. Breakfast and chores were followed by lessons. Right now the girls are working on finishing their textbooks from last school year for language arts and math, we're continuing where we left off in History (using America the Beautiful by Notgrass) and taking this week to learn more about the Autumn Equinox through Exploring Nature With Children right now for our science. ECJ dove right in where he left off in Algebra, doing Algebra 2 after he finishes with Life of Fred's Beginning Algebra just so we know that the information sticks. He's working more on his creative writing this year than he did last year and we'll do some focus on research papers later on in the year, we'll also be doing Life of Fred's Language Arts books with him before the end of the year. So far his favorite subject is Physics!!! He's really enjoying it, though we're only a few days in. We'll begin working on our Family Time Fitness next week as the weather is still just too warm and inviting for us to be spending time inside and right now the campers are active with their bikes, scooters, skateboards, and general playing to worry about taking time to "exercise" (LOL I love the fact that they're doing PE without even trying). After lessons were finished and Daddy came home he and I ran to the scrap yard and then scrapped our way back to the house. Daddy had to run back to work for a few minutes after that and came home with Jet's Pizza as a surprise supper, well ... a surprise for the campers since I already knew what he was planning. After supper Daddy and I went back out scrapping, came home to give out medicine, watch some TV together, and for me to tuck the girls in bed with their nighttime routine. Daddy took a buddy of his to work later in the evening and went back around our town looking for more scrap while I stayed home with the campers and I crocheted. 

One of the mini beasts that we discovered while covering
this week's assignment in Exploring Nature With Children.

On Thursday Daddy called formal lessons off for the day. This meant that it was a perfect day for us to go on our nature walk! We currently aren't journaling our nature walks and discoveries simply because I need to pick up some sketch book type notebooks for the campers to use for their journaling, I'm planning on doing this at the end of the month so that they can use them for the rest of the year and maybe even into next year. We played at the park for a little while after our walk and while Daddy was at his appointment a few towns over. When we got back home (and Daddy did as well) we took apart some scrap and then Daddy and I went to the scrap yard. A quick stop to drop me back off at home and then he went in to work for a little while. Peanut and I made some cookies while the Cracker Jack's straightened up the house a bit. 


Find us on Facebook here. We're also on Instagram. 

Linking up for the Weekly Wrap Up and Homeschool Highlights.