It's a Rainy Day...

and no one wants to do much. It seems like things are taking a long time to get done today. I started to stress out about it and decided that it just wasn't worth it. It may take all day to do their assignments and maybe we won't even get them all done.

What I do know is that I am enjoying the kids playing together. There's no fighting and so far temper tantrums. Ellie was pretending to be a snail as she wandered between rooms (fortunately, she moved a lot faster than most snails!) and Ben was building everyone a fort on the couch. I know that I need to enjoy these moments of togetherness because it doesn't happen often with the age differences.

I have chickens baking so that I can make soup stock (a two day process for us that is worth every minute of work). I love taking the time to cook ahead and freeze for those days when I don't have the time to make good meals. I used up the last of my chicken stock the other day when I made chicken pot pie, only to have hubby tell me he wants to make Italian Wedding Soup this weekend. Well, a trip to the store this morning (chickens were on sale too! special blessing!) and we're on our way.

I tried to get Ben to help with cleaning up the chickens before putting them in the pan. His face was hysterical when the chicken's heart fell out of the bag. This is the kid who put on his short term goal list for the year - learn how to dissect a shark. Dissection in Oceanography is going to be very interesting this year....

Thank you Mom!

It was a rough week as we had to adjust to bringing Abby to preschool TWTh mornings and do schoolwork on the road. It meant that our days are now longer than I would like as the kids end up finishing their work thru the afternoon. I used to think that I'd still have some free time in the afternoon. What was I thinking? :)

We were finishing up some grammar after getting home from Abby's speech session, when Ben came up behind me. Now it won't be long before he's taller than me. Right now, he's a great height to give a hug. This time, he gave me the hug. A huge, big hug and said "Mom, thanks for homeschooling me. I love you!" It was enough to melt my heart. On a day when I was tired and wondering if I can handle the schedule, I got the boost I needed to remember why we are homeschooling to begin with.