Summer Time! Week 2

Week One of Stacey's Air National Guard Field Training is over. One more week to go. I know it's only two weeks (16 days to be exact) but it's still rough. We're both very tired as Stacey leaves the house at 5am and doesn't get back until somewhere between 6pm and 8pm. On top of the long hours, unlike when he is at his civilian job, we can not talk on the phone during the days or text or e-mail. So when he gets home at 7ish, he takes a shower and goes to bed, and we get about 2 words in with each other. We're used to sharing a lot with each other throughout the day and then for an hour or so in the evenings. Luckily, I got out a lot last week to be social with other adults so I didn't completely lose my mind.

Generally Speaking

We were doing so well without our technology and then I kinda lost my mind a little this weekend and let them play computer games for, like, an entire afternoon and into the evening. It's not that I think video games are evil, but the kids (especially Shannon) get a little moody and out of control after hours of gaming. And that is why I try to limit their time. And, seriously, it's summer and we should be doing other things. 

Home Ec

We continued working on the laundry. The kids put their own clothes away but I wasn't very good about asking them to help me with the folding. But putting their own clothes away has been a lot more helpful and time-saving then I thought it would be. 

Fun

Unfortunately, the weather was kinda nasty this week. Not a lot of time was spent outside which led to some moodiness around here. We did make it to the park with our home school group and that was very fun. I invited my friend, Cheri, and her three boys to join us as they are considering home schooling in the future. And we hadn't seen each other in a while so that was double awesome. 

We also spent a nice morning and afternoon over at my parents' place on Saturday. The weather was actually pretty nice that day so we spent some time outside and then I fell asleep on their couch for about a half an hour.

Summer Learning

I got our hooked on phonics sets in the mail last week and we dove right in. Shannon started reading the little books right away and then we jumped into some lessons later on. Basically we just work through a workbook and a CD and along the way they have you do different activities. Shannon is speeding right through the Kindergarten set, which I guess he should since he is entering first grade. So then we'll just go into the first grade set and see how far we get. Chloe has been enjoying the program too but she is at a slower pace so I have been working with them separately. Shannon is definitely liking the different activities that we get to do. I am realizing what a hands on learner he is and I will definitely be taking this into consideration when planning our lessons for next year. 

Just a little side note. I was watching some demo videos of the Math U See program and Shannon insisted on sitting with me as we watched it. He was pretty engaged. I am not a kinesthetic learner so I do not teach that way by nature. So, I am looking for curriculum choices that will really push the hands on learning so I can just follow their lead. 

Projects

We made our jars of art supplies pretty and organized. And I was able to sort through some stuff and see what we could get rid of. I have decided that we don't need to own markers right now. I keep finding ink on the walls and carpet and even though it is washable, I just can not deal with that at this moment. They have crayons and colored pencils and those work just fine as a creative outlet. 

Mom’s World

I totally failed at going to bed early and waking up early. Not one day did I wake up before my kids and on top of that I woke up tired and cranky almost every morning. It threw everything off. And without Stacey home for dinner, we're not eating very balanced meals. I don't know why that always happens when Stacey is gone. I get super lazy with the meal prep. I was able to get my three runs in for the week and it was actually quite satisfying. I felt less death-like afterward. I downloaded a couch to 5k app for my iPhone that has made my workout both pleasant and technologically advanced. -sigh- I love technology. And I continued with my pilates as well. So, still working on the sleep and eating thing. I have another week without a husband so I don't know how far I'll get with that. 

I went out with some girl friends for our monthly dinner and drinks date. I didn't get there until almost 7pm because of all the scheduling craziness and then by 10pm I was beat. I believe I was home by 11. But we still had plenty of time to catch up, have some drinks, eat some delicious food, have more drinks and then dessert. I was pretty disappointed in the ambiance of the restaurant. We really wanted to eat somewhere with a nice patio so we could soak up some sun and celebrate summer but the sun was barely peaking out by then and the patio was almost completely covered so it wouldn't have mattered anyway. Oh well, it's all about the company anyway. 

I am really looking forward to this coming week. I am committed to making some strides during this awesome down time. I believe we are supposed to have some sunny days this week so hopefully that means some great days at the park and getting to eat our lunch outside on the lawn.