Mundane Monday

Thankfully things are pretty uneventful around here. We do things everyday but I just don't seem to have the time to post about them, which totally stinks!

Monday August 17: School lessons and hanging out. No details - can't truly remember this day for some reason.... SAD! I only remember getting the final paperwork together for L's online curriculum. And S's reading lessons. He is doing just phenomenal reading these days. I can't believe how quickly he has taken to these reading lessons. He can sound out a few words and most of the sounds with ease. I guess this day wasn't too mundane - just a normal day for us.
Tuesday August 18: We hung out with our friends, the K family, this morning. It was fun to do the craft box together and enjoy just hanging out. L took an art class at a local art/music studio. S was happy he didn't have to participate in this activity - one of the reasons it's nice to have Daddy Piper home these days. S was able to hang out with Daddy and enjoy some bonding time. L was sooooo into the art experience and comfortable in her surroundings. She ended up painting a totally cool picture too! Then at 5:00 that night was dance and she was like a different child. She was nervous and clingy, which is very unlike her. I know she was uncomfortable since the class is made up of 12 girls, 10 of which go to church together, live in the same neighborhood and attend the same school. It was hard for her to go in there not knowing any on of these girls, but within a short time, she was laughing and having a ball. I could see this through the mirror. She left class excited about going back. After dance, we had our homeschool MNO to discuss the latest drama. Some of the parents have decided to send their kids to public school but still want to remain in the homeschool group. It has been blown way out of proportion. I said some things that inadvertently hurt another mom's feelings and had to be brought out in the open and discussed. The whole meeting was tense to begin with but ended nicely. We have gone so long with no drama or crap in the group and this was bringing out some ugly things. We talked and talked and talked and everyone ended up feeling much better about things. It was mainly the insecurities of homeschooling that made this one mom question her decision, or that is how I perceived the situation. She felt personally attacked by me and I felt the same by her. It is amazing how just airing our feelings openly cleared up so many things. Our group is back on track. We have some fun activities coming up and the focus back on educating our children, the main goal of our group.
Wednesday August 19: PEECH day. We went to a local bear stuffing place that is American made - how wonderful!! It started out with a lesson on the history of the teddy bear, then a tour of their factory, then stuffing a bear (even Baby J got one!) and then lunch in their school room. I think all the kids had fun. It was extremely rewarding to be supporting an American company!
Today also marked the first day of L's curriculum. She had to do a 2 hour online orientation and was so bored by the time it was done. It helped my side of things when I explained this is how real school would be everyday. The curriculum looks easy but it should get more challenging soon. Her new computer should be here next week.
Thursday August 20: Today is my FIL's 70th birthday. We sent some cookies to him to help celebrate. Hopefully his birthday was wonderful with 70 more to come : -) Daddy also found a dove sitting in our flower box next to the house. It was a baby dove.This afternoon L's Daisy troop leader came over to go over the requirements for being a co-leader. She is uber-bossy. I was okay with that - to a point. But after hearing her go on and on for 2 hours about how wonderful she is, I was not feeling the groove in this partnership but still okay to go along with it for L's sake - so she would have a Daisy group. Then the freako emailed Thursday night about me needing to pick up her nanny on my to a required meeting I knew nothing about. Then she wanted to be reminded who my daughter was, like to be mean to her for me not picking her nanny. Anyway I found L another troop, maybe without a psycho leader. The only downside is my amount of involvement might diminish. I really hoped to be leader or co-leader for her troop as a way for her and I to do something together. After the "fun" Girl Scout time, I headed to Costco with a girlfriend - mooched off her membership. We didn't renew this year to save the $50. I only go a couple times a year so thankfully friends let us go with them : -) I was able to stock up on flour, sugar, salt and pepper. I also got S a cool Christmas gift. He will be so totally excited when he sees his Grave Digger Monster Truck!!!
Friday August 21: We spent some time today making some planets out of Rice Krispie Treats for our upcoming solar system lesson. J hung out and cruised around waiting for scraps : -) I surprised L with a cute matching apron. It's hard to see the cute matching aprons in this picture but I loved it. I love how smiley, happy we are in this picture together. I hate how old and wrinkly I look. I never pictured myself looking this way. Stress has wreaked havoc on me this past year... The next picture shows the cute aprons. It was fun to spend time with her in the kitchen. Our planet decorating was interrupted by Daddy wanting to swim so he took the older 2 out swimming. They swam for almost 3 hours.
Saturday August 22: Shopping with my sis and my baby girl (child in tow - see the pattern here?). Coupon shopping that is!! We hung out and shopped for 5 hours. It was wonderful to be helpful to her for once. Hopefully it took a bit of the stress off her for the time being. I also scored another Christmas gift for S. He is almost done now. I have to focus on the other 2. L is always so easy to buy for - she loves everything. J will be a bit tough since he has all these cool toys from the older 2.
Sunday August 23: Woke up early to do a CVS run alone. This was the plan and the plan didn't go accordingly. For some reason, the kids always want to go with me everywhere. Mostly, I try to be okay with this but CVS is hard to do with extra people in tow. When they don't have stuff in stock (which seems to be always), it's hard to figure out a new deal when you have 3 little ones clamoring to look at this, touch that, come see this or ooohhhh look over there. I was irritated and frustrated but managed to keep things in check. I have been so angry lately. I hate the rage that boils just under the surface constantly. Anyway - in the afternoon, it was a quick Target run to get Pullups for S. I agreed to let the kids bring their shopping carts and doll strollers. They love to do this. I calmly enjoyed the walk around the Target, taking our time to enjoy the afternoon shopping. I do try to remember that these are things their childhood memories will be made of - Mom letting them bring their carts shopping. I hope these are things they remember and not my angry outbursts. L learned how to pump her legs on the swing today!!!!! Major accomplishment for her.
Monday August 24: L woke up howling and screaming about 3 this morning. She was spooked by the air freshener in the bathroom. It is a sensor spray thing and when she went to use the restroom in the dark, it sprayed and completely freaked her out. She hollered for her Daddy, who went running for her. This screaming fest woke up J and I but amazingly not S. J was actually sleeping, something he has been doing more of lately. I got up and nursed him and put him back down. I spent from 4-5 AM on the computer looking at coupon deals. I had my list ready and was shopping by 6 AM. It was a very productive time. The store was stocked, no helpers with to distract me and home before everyone was awake for the day. Having Daddy home does have his advantages (financial aspects are not one of them - no work equals no money!!!!) I spent $59 and saved $134. I missed a couple of the coupons somehow (guess I do need the kids along to keep me focused). I took my coupons back in with my receipt and they gave me the cash back - extremely accommodating. We are so stocked on food and I am way under budget for the month. Today was another fun time with the K family. We had great time hanging out again. When we got home, I was able to get a nap. Another advantage of Daddy being home. This afternoon was spent making pizza for dinner (total cost for pepperoni pizza for the family... $1.11!!!!!!) and enjoying the company of our family. Everyone was in a great mood!! We are also getting things ready for our camping trip coming up with our homeschool group. Tonight I got to have a fun conversation with L while putting to bed. We discussed some of her wants for Christmas (Princess dressup gowns, Transformer Jammies, Transformers puzzles.....). She is such fun to chat with. She is happy to express her wants and desires so freely and openly. I love hearing her talk about just anything. She is wise beyond her years. The most exciting thing for her right now is her very own computer coming tomorrow!