And on that NOTE!

We quit violin lessons! I was feeling okay about this until I just saw my last post.... a bit of a pang in the heart seeing that.

But music lives on. There are so many opportunities for Will and I want him to enjoy the exploration of it all. The violins are still out, he has actually picked it up more this week than usual. We both have a sense of relief I believe. All I can say is that a week goes by really fast with a 5 year old and 3 year old and we were never practicing enough. Now its at our pace. Or maybe not at all. I'm glad I don't have to drive to lessons anymore.

I've been working very hard at keeping a routine around here. We stay home almost every morning now (except Wednesday they are at Grandma's but that is homey too!), adventure time is in the afternoon. Our schedule has lightened a bit since the pottery class Will wanted to take was cancelled on Wednesdays, and now with quitting violin we have no Friday morning lesson. So our week goes:

Mondays:
I watch my sister's little almost 3 year old boy on Mondays. Usually this is a good thing if everyone is in a cooperative mood.
We take a short morning walk.
I declare Mondays my cleaning day. The three boys usually follow me around the house most the morning.
We have a craft time mid morning (play doh, coloring, easy stuff).
Lunch and then rest time.
Afternoons we go to a gymnastics class - all three boys participate and really enjoy it. Its cute to watch.
Will goes to his NAET appointment after class.

Tuesdays:
Home all morning.
Walk or bike ride.
This is wet-on-wet painting day. I will post some of the creations soon.
Lunch, and rest time.
In the late afternoon I take the boys to grandma's and they spend the night there so Mark and I can attend the Discipline Without Damage parenting class. We have 4 more weeks of this arrangement and everyone is loving it!

Wednesday morning:
I pick boys up at grandma's around 10:30 am. So this means I get the morning to get the house cleaned up a bit, and plan out lunch and dinner for the day. Peacefully. Shower. Peacefully.
Next week the boys will be going to tour a Fire Station with the South KC homeschooling group and I will meet them there and then bring them home in time for lunch/naps.

Thursday.
Home in the morning.
This is baking day once I get a stove again. We need to have quick snacks for the weekend prepared.
I'm trying to plan most play dates or "adventures" on this day (Paradise Park, Library, etc) for afternoon. Today we went to The Children's Peace Pavillion in Independence.

Friday.
Home now in the morning!
I do have use of my sister on this day for babysitting as needed. Its a swap since I watch her ds on Mondays.
Tomorrow she is walking over and will take Jack for a walk in the stroller so Will and I can spend some time at home.
There is a homeschooling "recess" day in Lee's Summit I would like to take Will to but the timing is bad. I don't think we'll be doing it. My rest time, I mean, the boys rest time is too important to mess with. If I just stay committed to being home at rest time, life is so much better. Why don't I get that?

I think I will use Fridays for our more complex craft time. For example, we are making Kites for Michelmas so we would do that on this day. Will is also currently really interested in space and is working on a Space Mobile. He is painting the planets now, but we have run into a problem because he is insistent on giving Jupiter to Grandma. I really want Jupiter in our solar system.

Will has requested this week, however, we go to this little stream we found in the "woods" at a park a few miles away so we'll do that in the afternoon.

Saturday:
Every other week is Lake Farm School. We also have festivals thru the seasons to enjoy. Our weekends stay busy.

Sundays:
Either we go to Unity or we go watch Mark play hockey in the morning.

Other things the boys get to enjoy:
Fishing with grandpa.
Going down the street to see Amy (my 17 year old sister).
Making projects with Papa Scot. A treasure chest has been requested to I need to get Papa Scot on that. After he finishes all the work he is doing for us around this house. lol.

So this sounds pretty good to me except for a few problems:

I have GOT to get a routine down for meal purchasing and preparation. Of course, a stove would help.
But I also want a recipe list. I was thinking of making a calendar of meals just like a school does so all I have to do is look at the calendar and know what to make. And just make the same stuff on the same day each week. Or rotate out a schedule every few weeks. I'm sure there is something on the Internet I could use. Must get this organized.

I also have GOT to figure out how to get more exercise. Walking and bike riding doesn't cut it.

Now its time to go to bed.