Busy, Busy, Busy Life

Okay, so my great plans to write a post every week have gone up in a fantastic ball of flames. Blarg. :P I've become so busy since school has kicked into full gear. The girls are loving the schedule, and the quality of work and attitudes have never been better. In fact, this is our best school year yet. The problem is that they get their drive from their father. It's absent in me and I'm getting tired. To illustrate what I mean I'll provide a list of all the classes and other extra activities the girls are involved in. Then maybe you'll forgive me for not posting more often...

Bug:
Weekly:
- Spanish
- Community Bible Study
- Swimming
- Ballet (2 days a week + private lesson every other week)
- Writers and Illustrators (weekly for five weeks)
Monthly:
- Art
- Science
- CA Club
- Book Club
- American Girl Club

Boo:
Weekly:
- Spanish
- Community Bible Study
- Swimming
- Soccer (practice once a week + Sat. games)
Monthly:
- Art
- Science
- Literature Circle
- American Girl Club

Bear:
Weekly:
- Preschool (2 days a week)
- Community Bible Study
- Speech
- Tap & Ballet Combo Class

And here's what this last week's schedule was:
Monday:
Spanish from 9-10, go over Bear's school work in the library while Bug and Boo are in class.
Go home and get through the rest of the school work. Throw in extra read aloud time because I'm behind from last week and we don't have anything going on that evening so I might as well take advantage of the extra time. We took a day off of school work to attend the county fair's school day, where they provide free admission for kids and their parents if you sign-up as a school field trip. A friend of mine has gathered together fellow homeschoolers and signed up through her charter school for the past five years.
Tuesday:
7AM appointment with the dentist for a new crown. It means that there is no need to arrange for childcare, but it's an early start to my day. Get the girls through their school work, and finish getting caught up from last week, so now we are up to date on all but history and the rest of the week's school work should go easier. Wrap up by 12:15, eat a quick lunch, and get Bug to CA Club by 1. While she's there, take Bear to speech (1:30-2), and then get back just in time to pick up Bug at 2:30. Run every errand I can before dinner time. We start at ToysRUs for new Webkinz (Bug and Bear) and a set of ShrinkyDinks (Boo). Then we move on to PetCo for bedding for the guinea pig and hamster, the library for new books (one I'll need the very next day), gas station because the tank is on E again where we empty out all the trash accumulated in the car and then go through the carwash, and finally stop at the grocery store. Get home by 6:30, clean up the kitchen and get the girls to do their chores while I start dinner.
Wednesday:
Welcome to Crazy Day! Get everyone up and out, with a lunch packed, by 8:40 to get Bear to preschool on time. Bug has to take a shower before leaving because she has her writing class starting this week and she's hit the stage already where her hair becomes oily if not washed every other day and she skipped her shower yesterday. This makes for a tight time frame, but we get everyone out the door without me yelling. This is a major victory! Drop off Bear at 9, leaving Bug and Boo in the car (church parking lot and within shouting distance) to work on their choice of school work. They keep working during the drive to the writing class and by 10 each has completed two assignments. Drop off Bug and take Boo home with me. Read a little to her, help her clean her hamster cage, and then take advantage of the opening and let her watch a show on Netflix while I get laundry going and catch up on e-mails. Head back to get Bug at noon, and then drive to the church to pick up Bear. We get there 30 minutes early and the girls do some more work in the car. This is hampered by the fact that I left the pencil box on the table and we have only one pen. Bug suggests that they just take turns using it and while one works on a workbook page the other does her spelling orally. This works and we get some more tasks checked off our list. Pick up Bear from school at 1 and hear about her day on the ride home. Once we get home I check through their work while they pull together a lunch and they polish off their assignments while they eat. This is necessary because they have to change into their ballet and soccer outfits at 3 and leave the house no later than 3:30. I think that Bug had a break between 2:45 and 3 to play on Webkinz. Bear has her tap and ballet class from 4 to 5 and I sat in the car and read Bug's history read aloud (Island of the Blue Dolphins) to her during this time. Boo played games on my iPhone while listening in to the story. At 4 I picked up Bear and dropped off Bug. This week was actually easier because soccer practice was canceled, so we did Bear's school work, read Boo's history lesson, and then her read-aloud (Johnny Tremain) while she colored in her History Pockets project of a pop-up book on the Boston Massacre. Normally I'm driving Boo to soccer, getting her there right at 5:30, waiting to make sure my friend and her daughter show up, then leaving Boo in her charge on the field no later than 6, and driving back to the ballet studio to pick up Bug at 6:30. My husband meets Boo at soccer at 6:30 and brings her home. See why I call this Crazy Day? And it's not over yet. I picked up Panda Express and we ate dinner in the car while taking Bug from ballet to her church club, Best Friends, which starts at 7. I dropped her off and then went the two blocks to my mother-in-law's house and hung out there with her until 8:30 when I could pick up Bug and finally go home. We got home at 9. I helped Bug clean her guinea pig's cage, and Boo and Bear pick up their room. The girls weren't in bed until 9:45, and I still had to throw in a load of laundry, clean the kitchen (still a mess from lunch), and then rotate in a second load of laundry. I got to sleep somewhere around midnight.
Thursday:
Back up and out, only this morning had a surprise for us and we didn't leave the house until after 9. Bug walked out of her room, and asked me in a blurry, sleepy voice why there were two small guinea pigs in the cage and was she still dreaming? I said she probably was, and went to see what she was talking about. Turns out her fat guinea pig was actually a pregnant guinea pig and she is now the thrilled owner of two babies. It was a once in a lifetime event and definitely caused everyone to come to a halt and admire the magic of the sudden appearance of two perfectly miniaturized guinea pigs. However, Bear did need to get to school and she arrived a half hour late with a wonderful excuse. :) Bug and Boo returned home by 10 and had a difficult time focusing on their work, but did manage to get it done before we needed to go at 12:30 and pick up Bear. We got home by 1:30, and after checking on the babies - again - Bug and Boo realized that they had skipped lunch. This they quickly made, eating while I read more of Island. Then they played a little Webkinz, and Bug was hitting the shower by 3:30 in order to get ready for her ballet class. We left at 4, and arrived at the studio right on time at 4:30. Since I had no new errands to run, we stayed in the car doing Bear's school work, and I read more Johnny while Boo finished up her project from yesterday and started a new one on the Boston Tea Party. Then we went up the the studio, measured Bear for her Winter Spectacular costume, paid for said costume and show fees and October tuition, and then signed up Bug for two private lessons this month. That took a good 20 minutes and by the time we were done Bug was out of class and we were ready to head home. I stopped at the grocery store on the way home to pick up dinner only to realize that Bug hadn't grabbed her warm-ups before leaving the house and I wasn't about to take her into the store in her leotard and "booty shorts." We went home to grab the pants, while I gave a grouchy lecture on the importance of obedience to which Bug wisely simply responded with, "Okay, okay, okay," at every pause. I was much moodier than I should have been, but she's learned to tell the difference between me scolding her and just venting. That doesn't excuse it, and I did apologize, but the quite "okays" bring it to my attention sooner and I snap out of it faster than when she argues back. My husband had gotten home early and I was able to drop the girls off and head back out unencumbered, but didn't get dinner served until 8. The girls were in bed by 9:30 and I was doing more laundry, getting bathing suits ready for the morning, while my wonderful husband loaded the last of the dishes into the dishwasher. Then I took a much needed relaxing shower and got to sleep somewhere around midnight again.
Friday:
Which brings us to today. We were up and out by 9:07, a full 27 minutes later than usual, but we just had to burn some time watching the babies. I mean, how often do you get to see guinea pigs that are less than two inches long? We got to Community Bible Study at 9:28, two minutes before the 9:30 cutoff for the children's program. The good news was that lunches were packed, bathing suits were in the car along with the book for Book Buddies, and I had even grabbed the portable DVD player for the younger two to watch during the book club. (Everything is 20 to 30 minutes from my house and it's just not worth it to drive home. We spend a lot of time in the car waiting for someone to get done with something.) After CBS got out at 11:30, we headed over to the park for lunch with other homeschooling families. The girls really like this time, but it's mostly for Boo and myself. We love to hang out and talk. :) We left the park at 1 and headed to swim lessons. The girls change into their suits there and as I had been held up slightly while leaving the park they barely made it into the pool on time at 1:45. I hung out by the pool and talked to a friend who was at CBS and the park with me, and Bear laid on my lap and played quietly with her elephant. She was pretty sleepy and dozed a little by the end of the class. The girls were out of the pool at 2:30, and then they needed to quickly change, get their hair brushed and braided, and we were back on the road by 3:00. Bug still hadn't finished Island of the Blue Dolphins, which was that month's Book Buddies selection along with being her history assignment. She read the last four chapters in the car, finishing it at 3:28, two minutes before the meeting started. This was a day of close shaves, but they all worked out. A close friend of mine has three daughters that match up with my girls and her oldest is in the book club as well. We decided to take the younger four to the McDonald's play place and the girls had a blast climbing up and down and all around while we got to sit and talk. We picked up the big girls at 5, but they were busy playing jump rope games so the moms let them hang out a while longer and we didn't leave the house until 5:30. By the time we got home all I wanted to do was crash. Bear wanted to play in the tub, Boo and my husband wanted to play basketball outside, and Bug wanted to watch her pigs and then went out to practice her cheer leading skills she picked up over the summer at cheer camp. I watched Bear in the tub, read a few blogs on my phone, and ordered a pizza. :) Then, after putting the girls to bed I foolishly decided to write an entry for my own blog and it's now midnight. Why am I up late again? I'm going to bed!

Oh, but first I'll link up with Weird, Unsocialized Homeschooler's Weekly Wrap-Up. Check it out for some other busy, and not so busy, homeschooling weeks. :)