Elena 
Outside my window…
Hot. But that’s okay because it’s also DRY!! Every couple of days it looks like it’s going to rain, but it’s just a tease. I’ve had to get back into the habit of watering my outside plants again, especially my new lilac bush, so that things don’t dry out, curl up, and die!
I am thinking…
About the weekend we just went through. Mr. Pete flew across the country to San Francisco to attend a wedding in Oakland.
On my end, it’s always stressful to have him go away. Even now that my kids are older there is still some stress, although in a different kind of way I guess. Mr. Pete was able to get a ride to the Cleveland Airport so I didn’t have to take him, which was good. Noah and I managed to get the soccer fields striped on Thursday night so we wouldn’t have to do it on Friday. Saturday morning at 8 a.m. Izzy and I delivered all of the soccer goals. This is all stuff Mr. Pete usually does every weekend.
But I couldn’t stay at soccer this week because Rosie had her cross country meet on Saturday this week. So I left Izzy at the field and drove Rosie to her meet, leaving Miss C in the care of her Uncle Noah. Even this was a bit crazy because this meet was at a brand new venue with crazy parking in a field with a pretty significant walk to get to the course. Let’s just say, Rosie didn’t have to do a cool down after her race – the walk back to the van was sufficient!
Then that evening we all went to mass so that the girls could sing in the choir in honor of our new bishop! On Sunday, I had to get groceries, take Izzy to work, Rosie to practice and figure out who was going to pick Mr. Pete up from the airport. (Hat tip to my son Sam! I don’t hear from him often, but he came through for me this weekend!)
I guess what was most stressful was trying to figure out what had to happen, when it had to happen and who was going to make it happen without the help of my partner!
I am thankful…
Mr. Pete made it back home to us safe and sound, and that he had a good time and got to know a few of his nieces and nephews a little better.
I am pondering…
Of Mr. Pete’s seven living siblings, six of whom were invited to this wedding along with all of their children (that would put the number of invited guests into the 40s or more) only nine people were able to make the trip. For us money was definitely a factor, but so was trying to figure out what would be the best for the kids, especially Rosie and Miss C. Yet we really thought it was important to at least try to get Mr. Pete there to represent his branch on the family tree.
We can’t talk about the importance of family loyalty, and being there for each other if we don’t mirror that in our own life. So Mr. Pete was there to witness the wedding, but he was mainly there because he wanted to share this happy time with his brother. I’m glad he had a good time.
One of my Favorite Things…
My new addiction – Biscuitballerina on Instagram!
I am hearing…
the air conditioner.
In the kitchen…
Turkey breasts were on sale! Damn the heat – I’m going to cook one up anyway so we can have turkey sandwiches this week!
I am wearing…
Gray skort, pink T-shirt.
I am going…
- to walk or work out every day with Pfilates
- add some additional novenas next year with the help of PrayMoreNovenas.com
- to cut my carbs via the Wheat Belly Total Health: The Ultimate Grain-Free Health and Weight-Loss Life Plan recommendations
and intermittent fasting.
- Preparing my general science lesson for Wednesday although Mr. Pete may teach it. Izzy has to work and someone needs to be there for Miss C so she doesn’t have a melt down in her class.
- Get all the scraping done at the flip house because Miss C. will not be allowed to spend the night with her father until it’s all scraped and apparently painted as well. I spent four hours on Sunday scraping and still didn’t finish one wall. I LOVE playing with the heat gun though! I love the way the paint bubbles and then scrapes right off!
- I am going to get into this dress for my concert in April. I ordered it back in August because one of the reviewers said she bought it after she had a baby and even though she weighed 210 pounds, it looked great on her. She was also my height, so I figured, if she liked it, maybe it would look good on me too. It didn’t. But it might if I persist in my diet (low-carb and intermittent fasting).
I’m going to be sharing a weight loss story later this week – maybe.
I finished this one, so I downloaded Audible to Mr. Pete’s phone and he was able to listen to it during his trip.
Now I’m listening to
on the Audible app on my phone as I walk the trails during cross country practice or work on the flip house scraping paint.
On My kindle!
From the Learning Rooms…
Rosie is also taking a writing class online using the Once Upon a Time Saint series as the writing
prompt.
A quote to share…
When I was desperately looking for ways to help Calvin learn to read, the Writer’s Jungle by Bravewriter’s Julie Bogart was a source of great inspiration to me. This fall, I’m going to be sharing some of my favorite parts that really helped me teach my kids to write – from the absolute most recalcitrant writer, to the kid who has prose and poetry just dripping out of her!
Write about summer vacation.Write about Columbus. Tell me
everything you know about Japan.Who is Marco Polo? Write two
pages on your favorite food, sport, TV show, actress, Nintendo action figure…
Sound familiar? These are the writing assignments that litter the
classrooms of America. There’s a mistaken belief that kids write best
when given lots of room. The larger the topic, the more they will think
of to say.
What actually happens to kids who stare at topics like the ones
above? Their minds go blank.When asked why they haven’t started moving
their pencils, they say, “I can’t think of anything to write.”We balk,
and throw our hands in the air, and cry, “What do you mean?”
Inside we think, “That lazy, good-for-nothing, homeschooled,
spoiled baby.Why, when I was a kid, I had to write about the American
policy of détente and the Cold War in third grade while I trudged
through six feet of snow to the bus stop two miles away…” Blah, blah,
blah.
If you think rationally for a moment, you’ll also remember the
accompanying feelings when you were given an assignment like the ones
above. Usually a flash of despair or confusion. A swift glance at the girl
next to you to see what she was writing. A thought that if God would
just help you get something down on paper, you’d start praying again.
The notion that lots of freedom in the topic will produce good writing
is false. Freedom is needed but must come after choosing a narrow
topic. Otherwise freedom feels huge and overwhelming to kids (and
adults, I might add).
A picture to share…
Hello, I found you over at thesimplewoman, new follower here.
I enjoyed your day book, thank you for sharing beautiful photos 🙂
Blessings, Renee
@
https://thereisbeautyingrace.blogspot.com/