Well we have been together now for over a week. 9 people in our house. And so far we are all ok and no one has killed anyone...lol. We are chugging along. My kids have schoolwork that they need to complete each day. I'm not letting them out of work right. After all, they have no reason. If they are stuck inside, let's work ahead in a lot of subjects. That's what I'm planning with Lydia and her math for sure. My niece and nephew though didn't have any schoolwork this week, so I've been working at making sure they have activities to do. I have an actual boredom list hanging in the same spot our busy calendar usually hangs.
Sunday our microwave died. And we really do need a microwave in this house. So Joe and I ventured to Home Depot to buy a new one.
We didn't shop. Grabbed a few things we needed....and a new patio table too. I fell in love with it. And we desperately needed a new table out back. I'll post pictures when we get it put together. Patio cleaning is this weekend. I did clean up the side of our house during some great weather we had on Thursday. This whole side of the house was covered in a weird vine. It will not go away! So I have to go and clean up the vine every spring and fall.
I also dug out bicycles so I could go on a bike ride with my niece and nephew.
We managed to get out and walk a couple time this week. But I also cleaned out our storage room so that everyone in the house can use the treadmill and weight machine.
Lydia and Caty have been working on their foreign language classes. Both of them are online using either Skype or Facebook Messenger.
Robby and I planted some projects from 5 minute projects. We planted peppers and baby tomatoes. More on this. So far nothing has sprouted yet.
My new Nashville shirt arrived. I was very excited to get this in the mail.
Lydia is still continuing riding. She is practicing her posting for English riding now. The stable is limited in the amount of people there. So as of the writing of this email she is continuing this therapy.
The stable issued a challenge. Each day she gives them a pattern to try at home by walking/running. We are behind a day. We will have to catch up tomorrow.
Saige is loving me working in my office. I normally do not work there during the day. This is new. I am working at opening up my homeschool book store. So she just sits and watches me from our bed.
Lydia had an astronomy class on Monday. It was based around Dr. Who. She loved that!
Joey visited me while I was working. Being silly as usual.
Caty is starting to work on her yeast breads project. This week she made homemade french bread.
One night I found online digital escape rooms. So we brought them up on the tablet and projected them on the TV. Some were more fun than others. It made for an interesting evening...lol
Later that night the kids had a late night slime party!
My niece worked on this project in our kitchen science book. Unfortunately it didn't turn out as well. It turned into a cream cheese.
I have been trying to make sure that all the kids have their own space or attempt at least. Our girls are doing their school in their rooms. I helped Lydia clean off her desk so that she can utilize her awesome bunk bed with desk underneath. All the kids need to find their own space to hang and decompress.
Brayden was finally working on his baking. He made pear walnut muffins for one of his 4h projects. These got thumbs up.
On Thursday, Caty wanted to make chicken and waffles. The chicken was so tender. She baked it with maple syrup on it.
Their diamond painting projects actually came in. This is cool. And these larger projects will take them a lot longer than the smaller ones.
Joey woke up Friday and wanted to make canned biscuits. He hadn't made biscuits in so long he screamed a bit when the canned popped. But then we turned these into breakfast sandwiches. They chose sausage or chicken fried steak patties. They could add egg and cheese also. It was a create your own sandwich meal.
I am making sure that every spot of our house is being used. Unfortunately our basement is out of question. With 9 people in the house, I want to make sure that everyone has their own space. We can't be together ALL the time. I made sure that Lydia's space under her bunk bed is cleaned out. That makes room for more people to school in all areas of the house. (FYI .. her bed is one of those that has the desk underneath, she just NEVER uses it.)
Joey's self-advocacy group has been meeting on Zoom. I caught one of their meetings on Friday.
And I caught how comfortable he was ...lol
I have been keeping track of recipes for every kid to make. I saw one from Rachael Ray that I knew Robby would love. I mean it's peanut butter and jelly. Everyone liked it.
I set up a Chopped Junior challenge for Carra and Caty to do. They debated and debated, but settled on a pasta and sauce.
Some liked it, while others did not. There was only one serving left though.
We colored postcards over the weekend so we can send "mail" hugs out to friends this upcoming week.
The 5 minute craft trying to regrow the aloe did not work. It just molded.
On Saturday our village set out a safari hunt for the kids in town. This was fun. We went on a 2 mile walk on Saturday trying to find a bunch. We still have several more to find.
The girls "visited" Michigan for State Geography. And both are working hard at math. I have been over assigning Lydia in math so that she can finish her class this semester. Caty has been struggling a bit, so we stepped back and are looking at alternatives for her.
We managed to clean a few areas that needed cleaned up. I plan on concentrate on my desk decluttering this week. I'm not sure if our garbage company is taking anymore garbage though right now. I just got a weird email from them. So I'm going to need to call and verify if we have extra bags and boxes if they will be taken. These are definitely weird times we are living in.
Another project this week.....getting ready for our anniversary. Next week is our 22nd anniversary, and we always include the children in our celebration. Presents for all. So I have been internet shopping this year. And making sure that we have presents for everyone. Can't wait until next Saturday.
Next week Caty starts a free literature class from Memoria Press. They are reading Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe. She hasn't read it yet. So it will be all new.
I hope every is surviving our mandated social distancing orders. See everyone next week!!