Report Cards, Marches and Other News

The Captain lost another tooth (not pictured). That's three for him. It was pretty funny because Sunshine was spending the night at a friend's and he really wanted her to come home and pull it for him; it was interfering with his apple eating.  I told him he could wait, or do it himself. He went to the bathroom and came back with it in his hand! My kind of boy.

He's having a great week. He came home with a report card stating he is on grade level in every subject. This is a true blessing but also a testament to his doggedness. No matter how hard the task, he does not give up. We are so proud of him!

Tinker's school is having an MLK March on Thursday. Dad and the kids will go because I will be working. They are really looking forward to it because after the holiday program, we have a whole new idea of what is possible with creative leadership and kids. That program was hysterical. It is truly the best use of my time in years. They let the kids be kids so, for instance, if the group wanted to dance, they let them -- free style. It was adorable. We can't wait to see what they come up with for this march. By the way, it was news to Tink that she is also part African American. Pretty sure she still doesn't believe me.

The Blitz had a good report card too; he's behind in fine motor skills, which we knew. I have some concerns about his skills and his general health so guess a visit to the pediatrician is in order. He's such a nut it's easy to overlook his lack of prowess in physical tasks. In addition we are in trouble with his school because he has already had 12 absences. I only keep him home in the event of actual fever, so I do not know how we are going to overcome this. More to talk with the ped about.

Pepper's report card hasn't arrived but we are pretty sure she has straight A's again. Sunshine is also on top of things with homeschool and really anxious to get back to ball playing. They are in training mode now which she likes, but the games are the fun part.

That's all the news from here. It's cold, I'm cold, cold, cold, cold. In spite of it all we're taking the Littles camping this weekend while the Bigs are at DCYC. Fun in the forecast for everyone!

School Time Rhythm

I notice that a morphing of this blog has occurred.  It began as a way to keep the family abreast of all the changes in our world when our 3 Littles joined the family; since, it has stretched to  become part photo album, part memoir, and part mommy-stays-sane by thinking aloud.

Right now as a first time "school mom" I am trying to figure our how to order our lives so everyone (including me!) gets what they need but we aren't over-reaching.  Public schooling two and homeschooling two is befuddling.  Add to that Peppers two classes twice a week at the community college, The Captains three therapy appointments and Sunshine and The Captain's sports, and my mind is spinning.  Some day (sooner than I think) I will long for these days!

I call it scheduling, but in actuality it's more a process of decoding the rhythms of our home and considering how to place things in a predictable order.  All 5 of our kids thrive on order.  Here is how I *think* our schedule will look most days:

5:00 - Mom rise and have quiet time
5:30 - Finish lunches, make breakfast                        
          (I make everyone's lunch, including for those of us at home and then  its' done for the day!)
6:30 -Wake The Captain and Tink, Breakfast, Dress
7:10 - Walk to school with Littles
9:00 - Bigs start school, The Bitz home-pre-school
10:20 - Walk to school to pick up Tink            
            Play at park on the way home
11:30 - Lunch for Littles            
            Game time with Mom
1:00 - Rest for Littles, Lunch for  Mom and Bigs            
           Mom's break time
2:15 - Walk to school to pick up The Captain
3:00 -  Snack            
            Puzzles, chores, indoor play or Swimming (at least 1x/week)
4:00 - Homework time (school kids)  room time for tots
5:00 - Dinner prep and tidy toys
6:00 -  Dinner, then outdoor play
7:00 - Jammies, stories songs
7:30  - Bedtime for Littles
           Relaxin' time with the Bigs and Dear Hubby
8:30 - Prep tomorrow's lunches, organize back packs, etc.            
           Exercise!
10:00 - Hit the hay!

Monday - The Captain therapies; pick up at school at 12:30
Monday and Wednesday -- Pepper college courses 3:00 - 5:20,
Pepper sits in evening for neighbor
Wednesday a.m - Sunshine at Mother's helper job
Thursday - The Captain, therapy; pick up at school at 2:00

It looks do-able on paper.  Meal prep work in advance will be key; I'm very committed to feeding my family whole, real, home-cooked food and that requires a time investment.  On the weekends I'll be looking ahead several days and prepping vegetables, preparing sauces and dressings and cooking some main dishes.  I also double, triple or quadruple batches for things like meatballs and spaghetti sauce in order to save time later.  Pepper pitches in to cook supper a couple of times a week which frees me up to work on taming the "stuff monster" which requires constant vigilance.

I'm interested in your school time schedules.  What does your fall rhythm look like?

Ah, the good old days of summer