Mommy vs. Daddy: The Challenge of Grown-up Reading

A little bit ago the whole family was home just hanging.  I looked around, saw the somewhat still environment and thought "I wonder if I could sit in the rocking chair and finish the last twenty pages of Mitch Stokes Galileo book that I have been working on since August?"

I moved to the living room, sat in the rocking chair, found my page (mysteriously the bookmark had disappeared AGAIN) and managed to read 5 sentences before the first child started narrating their Star Wars show to me.  I explained that Mommy was reading and that he needed to play by himself.  One sentence later the girl approached wanting on my lap.  I denied this and explained Mommy was reading and she needed to go play.  She disappeared.  I read 2 sentences, but had comprehended nil, and she reappeared with a stool so she could stand right beside me and nudge her way into my view so she too could see my book.  I explained Mommy was reading she needed to give me space and be quiet.  She got down, moved the stool to the center of the room, stood on it and then called for me to notice how high she was.   Mommy is reading, please play quietly by yourself.  Mommy can't look right now.

This continued for a good 5-10 minutes when I picked up the book, found a book mark, tossed it onto the counter and stated "I guess I am not going to read." 

Hubby walked in from the other room and said "I can watch the kids while you go into the bedroom with the door closed so that you can read for awhile."   (Guilty confession:  Sometimes I forget that I can ask for help when he is home on his days off.)  DREAMY!!

So, I went into the bedroom and cozied down into the down comforter.

After reading for awhile I noticed that it was very quiet on the other side of the door.    Hmmmm???  I wonder if someone was sent to an early nap? Yet, I had not heard any of protest screaming that ALWAYS happens when naps come early.  Hmmm???   I kept reading.

I finally finished the 20 pages.  For a person who reads one grown-up book every 6 months or so this one really challenged my memory and my brain.  It mentioned and referenced many names and many ancient scientific theories that were new'ish to me.

I opened the door and found the house totally silent.  Gracie was sitting quietly, still on the couch at Daddy's feet while Daddy lay on the couch READING.   *hmmpphhh*  The boys were in their room playing quietly and listening to Old Time Radio Drama (X-Minus One, Gun Smoke and The Great Gildersleeve are the current favorites).

*Sigh*

It is very nice to be needed.  To be loved.  To have children continuously want me to interact with them but sometimes I am jealous of Hubby's concentration of steel and his ability to convince the kiddos that they need to let him think and read for more than a couple of minutes at a time.

Perhaps, I will keep trying and keep providing training sessions for my children to know that Mommy can sit and read with few interruptions IN the warm living room just like Daddy.

When, How and What do YOU read?

Cold Weather & Vikings & Excitement, OH MY!

Life has kicked back into gear this week around here.  

Here are a few things that we have been up to:

1- WINTER BREAK is OVER.  

We (umm, by that I mean mostly me) have been a bit sluggish transitioning out of the winter holiday season and back into school.  The school room was moved upstairs last fall, which was great when our temps were hovering abnormally in the 50's and 60's with lots of sun.   After spending the holidays downstairs where it is toasty warm we (errr, I) have not been so thrilled to either move upstairs where it is colder nor have I wanted to carry in the amount of wood necessary to heat the upstairs AND the downstairs.... so I was dragging my feet.

The last few weeks we have been reading through books about Vikings in a very relaxed manner while I would pull out an informal math or reading lesson now and then.

This week I tossed up my hands, brought a vertical storage drawer unit (aka: Workboxes) downstairs.  I filled each drawer with the materials that we need for our school and it is (kind of) hiding in my laundry room.  

We have hit the books strong and fast this week and I have been THRILLED to find Otto doing so well.  He is reading like a champ needing only a few prompts from me.  We are cruising in math (see below).  We are still working on Vikings (tomorrow we begin our lapbook) and have managed spelling, grammar and have stumbled upon some science too.  Abram has done great at a few reading lessons and over all the young kids have been happy playing near by.

2- Attitudes Have Been A Ton Better

 Otto has been amazing this week so far.  He has not sassed for his siblings to shush much.  He has not looked at our reading lesson and rolled his eyes.  He announced that the timed math tests we did today were "his favorite."  

The youngers have been content NOT doing their morning group time which this fall had been SO TIME CONSUMING and which I was not convinced about how *educational* it had been.  They have been "doing art" while I have been teaching Otto.  This means they pull out their Art Boxes from Christmas and scribble on paper and then pull out the play dough for a bit until they get bored and run off to play in the other room.  This is working SO WELL (for the moment).

My hormones-emotions have been somewhat decent this week as well.  I must be in the 10 day stretch of the month where I am not hormonally forced into deep sadness, great irritation or intense rage.   

3- I Have Decided to Go Ahead (slowly) With 

Vintage Remedies 8 Weeks to Real Foods.   

I will be transitioning into this plan MUCH slower than 8 weeks, but every time I think it is worth a shot.  Lately, every time I read about my hormonal issues, my emotional swings or hear about nutrition it seems that all the sources I am exposed to lately are saying the SAME THING.  So, goodbye processed foods (not that we eat many anyway), goodbye white sugar, goodbye bad fats, etc.

You can click HERE to learn more about these weekly emails from Vintage Remedies.

4- OTTO IS NOW IN 3RD GRADE MATH.

We finished up Saxon 2 on Tuesday. 

Wednesday and Thursday we will be doing a bit of review.

Friday we will dig into the new Saxon 3 books..... I think we will start with lesson 10 (which is new material) and then skip again to lesson 20!

5-  Our Weather Has Decided To Actually FEEL like Winter.

It is currently a super warm 19 with a wind chill that makes it feel like 5 above.  Tonight our low with wind chill is NEGATIVE 25. Tomorrow our HIGH is 1 degree above zero (not counting wind chill which knocks it down to NEGATIVE 20-30).  

6- Excalibur!

I have purchased tickets for the boys and I to go watch a production of Excalibur!  Hubby is home and will be keeping Gracie at home with him.  I look forward to taking the boys to such a fun play WITHOUT the little girl wiggling all over!   

What is going on in your world?

What are you studying?

How are you managing Winter?

Left Brain vs. Right Brain

I was just emailed this graphic and think it is a great visual of the differences between those who tend to be left-brainers and those who tend to be right-brainers.

I also was struck with some insight as to how Hubby and I can both be only children and yet still be SO VERY DIFFERENT.  :)  Guess that is how we can balance each other out, huh?

Via: Online College Advice

If you can not read the fine font above, you can click THIS LINK.

A Content New Year in 2012

Happy New Years!

Today finds me completely exhausted.

Christmas Eve morning a cousin of mine (64) in Illinois passed away.  Because it was a holiday weekend the planning of her Memorial service was not decided until Monday.  

The kids and I drove down to Illinois (450 miles with a 7, 5 and 3 year old) on Tuesday.  We stopped to see their great grandmother, grandmother and Great Aunt along the way.  (Oh, and I was pulled over by one of Illinois' finest lawmen because my license plate was dirty........ he wrote me a warning, lol.)

While we were in my hometown I met up with a couple girlfriends from high school for some 1:1 times.  We then had a cousin that I was super close to as a young child and her family come out to mom and dad's house.   We realized that we had not seen each other since my wedding, nearly 16 years ago.  It was likely elementary school when we had last spent *quality* time together.

That evening her mom came out (again it has been 16 years) as well as another Aunt and Uncle and 2 of their adult children.

We had the memorial service and meal with the family on Friday.

Saturday, we left in a whirlwind so that we could meet up with a super good E-friend that I had not yet met.We've been friends for at least 5 years and talk on email DAILY, but have never met!!   After our jaunt out of the way, the kids and I were back on the road trying to travel as fast but as legally and safely as we possibly could.  There was ice and snow forecasted for Saturday evening and we wanted to get home before it hit.

I drove at least 250 miles in fog but otherwise the weather was okay.  Twenty minutes after we arrived at home it began to snow.   Hubby left for work 1 hour after the snow started and for the first time in 8 years he actually turned around and came back home....... apparently the county snow plows were Missing In Action on the interstate.  :(

Today we managed to rise early and get to church and this afternoon we are merely **MAINTAINING** until it is time to go to bed.   I am exhausted.  The kids are too but they still have enough energy to play.

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So.... as far as New Year's Resolutions and starting the year fresh, I am NOT doing so great.  I am keeping everyone alive and about once an hour I have been able to muster the energy to put stuff away from our trip for all of 5 minutes or so!

Yet, I am okay with that.

I am okay that my house is a mess.

That my Christmas is still up.

That most of my food intake today has been handmade candy from my mother.

I am okay with everything today.

I am super content and maybe even super happy.   :)

If you have read my blog you know that Contentment is HUGE to me.  

Seeing what life has given you and being okay with it is so freeing.  Looking at life and realizing that you are not broken because you don't feel "flying on a cloud" happy all the time.   Happy is good but contentment and feeling satisfied at what one has or does not have is so much better.  

Recently I heard someone use *contentment* and *complacent* interchangeable and I strongly objected.   Contentment is not being defeated.  It is not settling for second best and no longer fighting for something better.  Contentment is looking at what you have, counting the amazing amount of blessings God has bestowed upon it, even in the hardest of times, and calling it good.   It is embracing what one has or embracing what one doesn't have and it is choosing to NOT look for "the better" because you see all of the greatness that surrounds you and you get choked up at how amazingly wonderful God is.

Contentment does not mean you LIKE all that you have and do.  It does not mean you are happy, but it is incredibly probable that in those moments when you are not happy you are still satisfied and content.   Contentment is choosing to "like what you do even when you are not able to do what you like."

Today I ran across an amazing blog article, on the Femina blog site, that helps you see how you can reach contentment.   Now, let me tell you........ IT'S HARD!   It takes a lot of hard soul searching work to reach contentment and it is about as hard to stay content.   Some of her steps are amazingly hard, but OH SO WORTH IT!

I challenge you this year to work at contentment.   I challenge you to pick one of the steps in this blog post (it can even be an easier one) and start working at it.  Life is so amazingly different when you no longer get frazzled by the rotten apples you find when your cart is upset.  Contentment sure does help you cope during those times.

Have a Happy New Year!!

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And if I could drop in a couple of prayer request for my praying followers.  

The following are heavy on my heart currently and I know that some of you out there are amazing prayer warriors who will help me lift these concerns up:

1) A college friend, Eric, was diagnosed with Stage 4 Lung cancer that has spread from head to toe.   He has a wife of 10 years, a 7 year old daughter, Ellie, and a 5 year old boy, Timmy.   The kids have recently been told that sometimes God chooses not to heal and it is an incredibly hard time right now for them all.  (Eric is 37!)

2) Herman Richardson is the husband of my cousin who died on Christmas eve mentioned above.  Now that the family is heading back home he will find himself VERY alone.  Please pray for him as he transitions into a life of a widower.  He and my cousin Bobbie would have celebrated 45 years of marriage THIS Week!  :(

3) A high school friend, Kim, is currently traveling to our home town for the funeral of her dad who very unexpectedly passed away.  He was VERY young.  Please pray for the family as they mourn his loss and prepare to say goodbye.

Thank you my praying friends.  :)