Well with Ken working from home I have found that we have an odd sort of a-typical rhythm… every few days I get ready to go to bed just in time for Ken to announce HE needs a nap before he pulls a long night. That means 35min – an hour of late night time freed up before I head into bed which inevitably wakes up the baby (aka her cue to nurse). So tonight… a combination – tidying, watching of anime (Soul Eater… undecided on this one as to whether or not I like it… definitely a more mature listing) AND the basement. BUT last night – SUCCESS… I found a little floor! Ok so I covered another portion in stacks of boxes BUT floor… FLOOR! Of course there is still the futon frame to move (totally NOT my job) and some minor rearranging to go on in the completed corner but I have emptied all boxes from that area.
My cleared corner!
Annnnnd where some of the stuff went
I get my best work done when I am more than ready for bedtime. Yesterday the bulk of my time was spent with the schooling, and then meals and then just general upstairs upkeep. The kids are still a little bored and VERY mommy focused… everyone wants a major chunk of my time right now. And even when I give them time it is not enough. I think the combination of rain (like we are about ready to build and ark) and Ken having to work extra time on tricky bugs. They just don’t understand how hard he works sometimes, though they brag about it to people – and have started to believe that anything beyond games is one of us working VERY hard. So apparently BLOGGING is a difficult job and VERY important! Smart kids?
Basically what I have done is cleared the DVD/electronic games corner and sorted MOST of my craft stuff into a pile on and around MY desk (YUP I get my own DESK instead of having to temporarily use the table from time to time – speaking of which I found the pieces for that the night before last! ME! Woot!). I would LOVE to get the closet in the main area emptied out and then filled to the brim with ALL toys so I can slowly sort those out but still have room in the main area for play, tv AND the futon. Can you tell I am MOSTLY enjoying this? I am definitely an organizer at heart.
We brought out the Canada map puzzle again, the best way to continue working on the concepts of country, province and city. Echo decided to help us out by pointing out Quebec… or covering it, either way she was VERY determined to check it out.
Quebec!!!
We have continued our chapter story. More fun at summer camp. The boys are quite happy to sit and listen to the chapter though Zander has been less than enthusiastic with the picture that follows.
Completed pages
Today was a busy cooking day for yours truly. With Ken’s help I made up a triple batch of our baked beans in the slow cooker. Using bbq sauce instead of ketchup of course. The kids are overjoyed with the idea of beans for lunch tomorrow…
Cooking away
It was a play doh afternoon… We set up in front of the big window in the homeschooling area. Emanuel and Zander eventually lost interest BUT Gavin spent his time recreating some of the foods you find on recipe cards that came with the set Emanuel got for Christmas a year or two back. It amazes me how much time he is willing to put towards an artistic project.
PlayDoh with Fat Sheep overseeing
A whole meal
Ken took THREE of the kids on a walk in the evening after dinner (Zander opted to stay home and watch the CareBears movie on Netfliks and Echo and I were hanging out with Karyn and Lauralee who stopped by to collect Fat Sheep for adventures elsewhere). Just up and down the street but the kids were all for it and the weather was kind enough to agree.
On a walk
Kristen and Fydo came over with game in hand (Ticket to Ride). The beginning of a new tradition – gaming nights! It has been quite some time since we have had a regular boardgame time. New traditions to replace the old.
Boardgames!
So some visitors (Mike stopped by too briefly), some more time spent on Canada (we even listened to the national anthem off the government site that then screwed up the netbook and had me calling Ken upstairs for help), some cooking and as you can see on the above picture – THE TABLE IS BUILT!!! Tomorrow Ken drives Karyn to the airport for her library conference in New Orleans and then heads back to the old place to finish up. A bit of a long day for yours truly to look forward to with the boys being so stubborn.
Practicing her standing skills!