Breaking the Silence

Monkey

YCJ

Oh my goodness! I haven't blogged in over two months! YIKES! But, life was really busy and threw several curve balls at us. Four birthdays happened ... the biggest one was YCJ turning thirteen last month!!! She didn't really want to turn thirteen as she was scared that somehow becoming a teenager would fundamentally change who she is. She's glad to report that her fears were unfounded as of yet. Our family life is slowing down and we're getting into a very good schedule that works for all of us. Monkey turned 21, SweetPea turned 2, and I turned the age that I am now. 


I'm not going to get into all of the details of the last two months.... It's a long, drawn out story and really I'm not ready to go over all of it with anyone (including myself). But, things are turning out like God planned ... sometimes we may wish that He would include us in that planning progress but of course He does not and we're required to simply trust that He knows what is best. Sometimes letting go of control of your life hurts and is very hard ... but, all the time it is worth it because when He closes a door He always opens a window!

Saturday (June 2nd) we chose to have a quiet day around the house for the most part. Naps were taken by several members of the family, I worked on a blanket for one of my nieces (not showing pictures of that just yet, I will after her birthday), YCJ and Peanut spent a good portion of the afternoon playing a new to us game on the Playstation 3, while ECJ went fishing during the afternoon with a family friend. The majority of my day was spent with my crochet hook and it helped me stay calm like it always has, it is my happy place more days than not... So, I've decided that I must make time to crochet each day. Peanut worked on some of her crafting today before playing video games and spending some time outside with her siblings. YCJ worked on editing and making more videos starring her Littlest Pet Shops using Calico Critters furniture and cabin. ECJ completed all of his chores (except for his evening chores) before heading out for an afternoon and early evening worth of fishing. A soothing, cool (the temperatures stayed in the 70's for the day) Saturday spent at home was just what was called for.

On Sunday we skipped mass due to a torrential downpour and stayed in bed relaxing for a bit. After breakfast Peanut and the Cracker Jacks spent several hours playing video games together without fighting with each other. Around lunch time Daddy and I went out scrapping around our house and followed that up with scrapping down by Grandma and Papa's house. We were gone past supper time and so it was a fend for yourself type of night... with several leftovers, canned goods, and other things in the house we weren't worried that everyone would eat well. After we got home everyone went for an early evening walk and then after a few episodes of Hart of Dixie on Netflix for us parents, and some YouTube videos for the younger kids we all went to bed relatively early.


Monday the adults woke up at 5 AM! Coffee time in the quiet and then back to sleep for a couple of hours for Daddy and I ... I've been sleep walking lately so I'm not resting properly and Daddy's up making sure I'm not going to hurt myself in my sleep. After the campers woke up and ate breakfast Daddy and I went to the Secretary of State for the yearly stickers that cost so much for our vehicles, but we bypassed a three hour long wait by being able to use the kiosk! After that we ran to the bank, stopped at two stores, got gas in the car, paid some bills, and then came home. ECJ stayed home while we ran up to the library to pick up some books for Give Your Child the World book club this summer (this week is International week), some other fun books, and several movies. Lessons were done after lunch... just  math, and history for the day because I began not feeling well. Then ECJ popped in a Spongebob Squarepants Season 2 DVD and the children all snacked on chips while watching it. We went for a walk before and after supper, which was chicken wraps (YUMMY!). Then again it was early to bed after some TV time ... this time we watched Goosebumps The Headless Ghost together as a family before bed. Even though I wasn't feeling well I read a bit of Children Just Like Me before the girls headed off to bed. (Just an aside for those of you with children who like the Goosebump series by R.L. Stine ... there's a video called Awesome Ants that will go well with the Arthropods unit from The Good and The Beautiful science.)

Then came Tuesday, I woke up with a sore throat and drainage happening behind my ears causing my glands to be swollen. YAY! It's never fun when I'm sick... We took apart some scrap and loaded the truck taking the scrap back to the scrap yard. Today we did two loads... I sipped on frozen coke all day long along with some throat lozenges and didn't speak very much. When we finished at the scrap yard we called home, everyone was working on math so Daddy and I decided to run to the car insurance agency and drop off a tow bill from a few weeks ago that we'd sent in the mail but apparently had become lost in transit. While we were in the area we did a little scrapping as well, and this time I DO mean a LITTLE scrapping as there wasn't much out. Since I still wasn't feeling good Daddy stopped on the way home and bought tacos for the campers, I had some noodle soup, and we were pleasantly surprised because YCJ had run the vacuum for us while we were gone. I rested for a bit and then soaked in the tub for a bit, reading the last three chapters of my current bath book. Afterwards I passed out meds to everyone, read a bit of Children Just Like Me for International week for the Give Your Child the World book club. I tucked the girls in bed, told ECJ what time he needed to be in bed, and then went to bed myself by 10 PM or so.

Wednesday I woke up still having a sore throat, drainage from behind my ears, swollen glands, and just for fun I was dizzy as well. I spent the majority of the day staving off being dizzy by moving slowly and not bending from the waist or laying down. Vertigo ... yeah, probably time to call the doctor but I decided to give it another day or two. I helped Daddy unload the back of the truck, watched as ECJ began cutting the lawn, ran to the store with Daddy, and then watched as ECJ put up the lawn equipment. Daddy left to go scrapping, do some gardening at Grandma and Papa's house, and attend a men's group at our favorite church later in the evening. I sat down and played a computer game for awhile and then worked on this blog post to catch it up. After lunch I read some more of Children Just Like Me, pulled up some YouTube videos for the campers to check out how other people live around the world, and then went through some of our curriculum to see what I still need to buy for the fall. Off and on I came back to playing the computer game because laying down or trying to crochet simply wasn't working. The campers worked on their math with very little assistance from me and got chores done without prompting. I folded three loads of laundry this day and washed two. Even when I'm not feeling well I keep moving unless I simply cannot. During the afternoon the girls watched more YouTube and ECJ played some games on the Playstation 3. YCJ helped me make pancakes, eggs, and bacon for supper. Meds were given out around eight. I read more of Children Just Like Me and then sent the girls off to bed by 9:30, which was shortly after Daddy got home. I went to bed soon afterwards hoping to wake up feeling better so that I could avoid the doctor office if at all possible. (To find the book club for the summer that I keep talking about follow this link.)

So, Thursday was kind of interesting... I wasn't feeling dizzy anymore but still wasn't feeling well. We did our lessons and then Daddy and I ran to the scrap yard. That afternoon we loaded up YCJ and Peanut into the truck and went to go pick up a surprise! We bought a used pop-up camper!!!!! Yes, the roof on the camper needs a lot of TLC, but we couldn't beat the price and KNEW that we'd be able to fix the problems. The girls were so excited they were fairly bouncing. We threw a strap over the top of the camper and then stopped by Grandma and Papa's house for about an hour to allow rush hour traffic to thin out a bit. We then surprised them with pizza for supper! This week hasn't done anything to help me with my diet ... didn't loose one single pound even though I didn't eat much because I wasn't feeling well. After supper it was meds, reading, and bedtime for pretty much all of us.

Friday we decided to skip book lessons and do some hands on work with math, logic, and thinking outside of the box. Daddy and I had to go to several different stores to pick up some things that we needed to work on the camper, some mini amount of groceries (I'll go grocery shopping sometime in the next few days), and before all of that we had to work on the camper a bit to get the right measurements for the wood that we needed to fix it. During the time we were out ECJ got a lesson in measuring without supervision when Daddy called him for some measurements on board that we needed, but had forgotten to measure before we left home, he nailed it on the second try! (We're going to be brushing up on fractions using a measuring tape over the weekend lol.) When we got back home everyone pitched in to help work on the front of the camper and, as with any project, things kept going wrong and we had to rethink our next steps several times. This is what happens when you don't have blueprints, except in your own mind, for the project at hand. This is how we usually do projects because this is how it works for our family. Also, a massive amount of tall grass that no one wants to claim responsibility to cut, we cut down. Shortly before dusk we all came in and I made a late supper of white fish and corn. The screw gun/drill got plugged in to recharge for morning, coffee pot was set up for when we open our eyes, showers were taken, laundry was done... ECJ went down to watch a movie with his young lady friend (they're still not labeling each other, but have been talking since about mid October). When he got back he did dishes and took the trash out. I passed out meds, read more of Children Just Like Me, and then sent the girls to bed. ECJ was told what time he needed to be in bed for the night, weekends he gets longer to play video games but we also need him up in the morning for the camper project, and then Daddy and I went to bed ourselves. After a week of waking up at 5 AM I was more than ready to dream about sleeping in! 

Doing an extra Saturday this week!!! Why? Because I thought you'd enjoy seeing more progress on the camper and us working on it together, of course! LOL silly goose! It rained most of the morning and into early afternoon. So, I made a quick trip to the grocery store to pick up fresh veggies, fruits, chips (not on my diet), sparkling water (0 calories), and a few other odds and ends... especially the french fries to go along with our bratwurst and baked beans for supper! By middle afternoon the rain had stopped so we all trooped outside to help Daddy with the camper. We finished fixing the box (the part that lifts up with the roof) and popped up the camper to air it out. We'll finish the roof this weekend and do a good cleaning and some canvas repair next weekend. It's kid and dog approved!!!

Posts You May Have Missed This Week:
Summer Plans


Linking up with Weekly Wrap Up and Homeschool Highlights this week!

Find us on Facebook here ... we're also on Instagram!