By Friday, we go stir crazy in this house. Especially with the cold weather keeping us inside, so I make my kids do the minimum of schoolwork…math, reading, and writing and we take off and spend the day somewhere exciting. Today we went to the discovery center, you can see Prov painting, and Hope and Cara made a huge fort out of bendy tubes.
Working out becomes more challenging with three kids added to the mix. Since it’s so cold outside I’ve been doing Jillian Michael’s 30 day Shred videos. They are only 20 minutes long, but it is HARD!
Anyway, I discovered the kids add an extra challenge. The energetic music draws them in to the excitement, when I get down for push-ups Prov tries to climb onto my back, when I lay down for sit-ups, she snuggles up close beside me and makes it difficult not to hit her. I have to keep two extra sets of very light weights for Prov and Cara. Cara does the jumping jacks and weight exercises next to me, but then she starts swinging the weights and smashes her finger or rolls one onto her toe and I have to pause the video to comfort her. Yesterday Prov decided to pee on the floor behind me while I was exercising, she never does this, I wonder if she was jealous of my attention? They seem to find lots of questions that need to be answered when they see me busy working out. I also have to be careful not to hit anyone in the head with the hand weights as they stay busy around me. During my short 20 minute workout, I usually have to hit the pause button three or four times for minor emergencies that need to be handled right away.
I like seeing them jump up and down and their jumping jacks and forward punches are very cute. Overall, it makes me happy to do something with them that they enjoy. I’m just hoping for a smoother workout today, maybe only two pauses of the video and no injuries or messes on the floor would be good.
Had an amazing date last night with my husband, we went to eat at a really good Italian restaurant and then played darts at a bar with another couple who have been good friends for a long time. We got home late and slept through church this morning, our daughters have been restless today. I think they’re ready for some action, they keep buzzing around me like flies needing something to do.
We are having a family night tonight, my husband found a cake in the grocery store made from Cake Boss (one of our favorite shows), and I think we’ll do a family devotional and some hallway bowling with tall cups and a soccer ball.
Some goals for this week for me are to:
1. Write down the food I eat
2. Exercise Daily
3. Check back here next Sunday with results.
We made paper mermaid tales and got stressed out by the timers on free online typing games for kids today. My husband put “The Chronicles of Narnia” on the girls’ ipod for them to listen to at night and they love it. We made a pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting and I bought a new pencil box for Cara. Hers has been broken and had a huge hole in it for over a month and she never complains, she just turns it upside down so the crayons don’t fall out, I love that about her; it is a strength and a weakness.
I gave lots of hugs and cuddles and throwings into the air today, we had a relaxed morning cleaning and playing and an intense afternoon doing workbooks, flashcards, and reading books. My husband and I are sharing the frosting container from the cake, I’d thought of a new diet rule that I can’t have anything sweet unless I lick it off of him, but I haven’t told him about it yet, he might reinforce it :).
My supper turned out amazing tonight, the chicken was juicy and cooked just right and the homemade French fries were delish too. That doesn’t happen too much, so I’m reveling in it.
I don’t understand when to love the world despite their sin and when to withdraw from them because of the awfulness of their sin. I wish it were easier, we are told to love them, but sometimes what they do and say are so painful to watch that it is hard to be around them.
I am thankful for good friends who I can go to when I have questions, I’m thankful for my family, and for our ten butterflies flying in a netted cage in our living room, I’m thankful for hamsters that keep two year olds excited about life, I’m thankful for busy days at home with my family.
I’m all out of chamomile tea tonight, so peppermint will have to do. Homeschooling has been going better, the girls are getting used to our rhythms and aren’t complaining as much. They went to children’s church tonight and while they were gone Prov and I had some one-on-one time, at least 30 minutes was spent trying to kill some flies that were buzzing around our house and scaring her. I started reading Little House on the Prairie to the older two at bedtime, they seem interested in it but it is hard for them to sit still.
I read a good blog today about goals, and I haven’t set any goals for quite awhile, so I thought I needed to again. With God’s help, here are some changes I want to do to make our lives better.
1. Exercise 5X a week, just walking and if I feel like it running. Around 3-4 miles/time.
2. Start homeschooling at 9 am. We’ve gradually been starting later and I think we’re all happier if we start earlier.
3. Spiritual goal? I don’t have one right now, will have to think about it.
4. I would like to plan a date night for husband every other week, I’ve got it written on the calendar but I haven’t been doing it.
Homeschooling has been hard, and it’s not fun to nag my children through their assignments. I often think about what a better job a regular teacher would be doing than me. I need to plan our days better so that we have more fun and get done quicker. It was nice during the summer to be relaxed, but I think better planning will be better for all of us. I also think about my friends who were homeschooled and are sending their kids to school now instead of homeschooling. My relationships with my kids are getting better, so that is a plus. I’m teaching them about God more, it’s hard to know how much they are absorbing at their ages. I’m discouraged about weightloss, I really just keep losing and gaining the same five pounds, I wish the weight would go away already.
I’m typing this story with red kool-aid stained hands. This morning I attempted to dye my daughters hair pink with cherry kool-aid mixed with conditioner. I used two packets of kool-aid per girl and a good squirt of conditioner. I let the girls mix it up with a spoon and it seemed the longer they mixed, the more the conditioner separated into a watery grainy mess, so I recommend not stirring too much and putting it on immediately before the conditioner separates. Then I started mixing it into their hair and it was very drippy and I got some on the floor. After about two minutes, they started complaining that it was itchy and began scratching. So after five minutes, I put them both in the shower and we watched the water turn red at their feet. They got out, got dressed and I don’t see any pink hair. What a disappointment, maybe we didn’t keep it in long enough, but it was kind of fun to do an activity with them and our house smells great. I’ll have to go to the store and see if I can find some temporary pink hair dye and we’ll try it again.
Journey Through Grace 