Sibling Revelry: experiences

September is cruising along. We've settled into our routines. I go to school tuesday and thursday mornings. The kids play and do chores during that time and then we do school in the afternoon. After that I teach lessons on Tuesdays. Then Tyler goes to Will's football games. He's on A team this year, but that actually means less playing time which is a bummer. On Mondays I don't teach at all, so we do school and I try to work on the house, but the poor house is pretty neglected. Wednesdays we do school and then I run to campus for the Wednesday Noon Recital zoom meeting. Then I teach my homeschoolers and start my teaching day earlier. I'm done earlier too which is nice because I have to go to Young Women's. Thursdays are my piano lessons and I've never cried more (in my actual lessons) than I have this semester. It's been a little rough, probably because I'm not practicing as much, but I'm in a better place right now (probably due to MCO getting going and not being so much work). So I don't teach on Thursdays because of MCO. Then Friday is schoolwork for kids and maybe practicing with Teresa for me or gymnastics for Amelia in the afternoon. It's pretty nice. I have 14 students and it's the perfect number.

We started the month with Will getting braces!

I got to do more boating for a friend's birthday. It was a surprise party and it was super fun. I did not tube.

So this meme really hit me. After I saw this, I put limits on my social media. 10 minutes on Fb, IG and Tiktok. That's all. And then the app shuts down. Am I actually practicing more, I don't know, but I'm not wasting so much time on social media so that's good.

Hawaiian Falls for the neighbor kids' birthday. The boys were invited, but Amelia had been wanting to go (and Wyatt does not want to go anywhere without me close by) so I took everyone. Tyler was in Galesburg helping on Tara's house, so it was a fun little splurge.

More parades for Maddie! Labor Day.

Will is currently obsessed with mountain bikes and has rebuilt a bike for himself and he and Tyler have found some decent trails. I'm glad they can get out and do something adventurous.

For my YW's group we did a cupcake wars type of event and they had a blast. I love these girls so much.

Just a friendly reminder.

I know people think we are crazy for having our kids sleep in our room, but it works for us. I like having them close by. I like reading to them at night from the comfort of my own bed. They tuck their "pallets" in during the day, under our bed. I know they won't be there forever (well, maybe Wyatt) but it's ok. I want them to feel safe and comfortable and to know they can count on their parents. But yeah, my room is kind of a mess all the time....

GG got in trouble for trying to walk without help and she fell down. She has moved to an actual skilled nursing care center because she's not able to walk anymore.

I love my students so much. I love when they love their lessons too.

All the preps are happening here.

A special treat for these 2 when Tyler and the older kids drove down to Louisiana to help with hurricane relief.

When Wyatt uses Amelia as a pillow.

Funny funny meme.

A cold pool visit.

Dirty mirror, but my hair is really getting long.

Amelia's art

Post game Will

How Wyatt relaxes at the dentist. I took the younger 3 kids and guess what, they all passed!!!!!!! The first time in ever. Even Amelia.

January 2021

This month will probably go down as one of the most life-changing months of my life.

We started with an impromptu drive to Buc-ee's on Maddie's last night home and bought traditional Texas stuff for her to take back to Idaho. She was ready to head back, but it was nice to have her home. It just feels good to have all your people under one roof.

Things I find funny:

Amelia dressed for our "snow." A few flurries.

Cozy corgis. Homey pics I like. I've been craving cozy lately.

Big thing #1--We all got Covid. Since right after Christmas I had a stuffy nose. And then I had a sinus headache. I thought nothing of it. Mountain Cedar is intense this time of year. And other than congestion in my nose and on again/off again sinus pressure, I did not feel sick. But then I suddenly couldn't smell the onion I was cutting for dinner. So I took a bite out of it, like an apple. Yep, no taste. I debated getting tested, but Tyler actually thought sure, why not, maybe the info will come in handy later. And yes, 4 days later my results say positive. This launched a series of events that caused a lot of anger, frustration and blaming. I was genuinely surprised how much judgement other people have for you when you have covid. How you handle it. What you do. But luckily I had my own spiritual answers for what was best for my family. And I learned who my real friends were. I also realized how STUPID all the protocols the school has in place for kids and exposure. The whole world has lost their everloving mind. I still never felt sick. It took awhile for the headaches to completely stop and my sense of smell has taken a hit. It is very annoying. But, we decided to take all the kids and finish our quarantine in a cabin by ourselves in Broken Bow. At this point, Tyler had 3 days of feeling crummy and a little run down (and no taste) and Will and Giselle felt a little tired and blah too.

We did online school every day and then we explored and hiked as soon as that was over. Online school is THE WORST. You sit there all day in front of a teacher who is also trying to teach a class in person. And for Wyatt it was even worse than that. He was supposed to take benchmark tests and get his accomodations and I got to witness first hand how behind he is and how he is really just pushed through. The boy needed me there for every single bit of work. And that leads to:

Big thing #2: I sat there with Wyatt and felt the strongest prompting ever that I need to homeschool him. He needed me, one-on-one to fix all the things that have been let go. I cannot deny how strong it was. So I told myself, ok, after this summer, next school year we will do this.

Seriously such a beautiful place.

I was so sad I couldn't really taste the cobbler....

We got back, our "quarantine" was officially over but the school said the kids couldn't go back unless they wore masks. And since we don't do that, I kept them home even more. And then I decided to not even sent Wyatt back. We are doing this NOW. So here he is on his first day out of public school.

I love this little scene so much.

And this scene where Tyler is teaching Will some skills as they lay some vinyl flooring inside my cupboards (so nice and easy to clean now!)

I'm getting chickens this year. I don't care what anyone says about it.

A boy sleeping with a wooden chest in his face.

A portrait of me, done by Amelia. No feet, but she's got the ripped up jeans and music shirt down.

How our homeschool day looks:

Tyler and Will drove up to Idaho to bring Maddie a car that we bought her.

Amelia's last day in public school. She was begging not to go also and honestly, she and Wyatt are doing the same stuff and it would make things easier for them to entertain each other and then I didn't have to wake up and pack one lunch, why the heck not, so I took her out too.

Big thing #3: I also started school. I had registered at the end of last Fall as a real student at Collin because I thought I wouldn't be doing much this semester. I figured a few music classes and lessons for me wouldn't be too bad. Little did I know how much I'd be doing and how much time school takes. I'm gone physically in class all day Tuesdays and Thursdays. Then add in extra rehearsals, extra lessons, recitals I'm supposed to watch each week, and just the sheer practice time. Every single moment of every single day I say to myself, I should be practicing. Unless I'm actually practicing. And then when I am practicing, I'm using every ounce of brain power to memorize and learn these pieces. And then, there's homework, reading, studying, ear-training. It's a lot. And I love it all (maybe not my theory teacher) but I want to be HOME and present and be able to clean my house and putter and educate the kids (which I really am loving). So, sometimes I think we have to go down a path to know we really don't want to go down that path. I've always regretted not getting a music degree, and maybe I'll work away at it slowly, but right now, I just want to be home, with my family (and yes, playing the piano a little).

Some more pics of Amelia I took from her teacher's facebook group. Sometimes I look at these and see how much fun she was having and all she was doing and I ask her, "Do you miss school? Do you like being homeschooled?" and she answers resoundingly I LOVE BEING HOMESCHOOLED.