Fourth Quarter

 

We have officially entered the fourth quarter of our school year. The kids have already finished their Life of Fred books (Pre-Algebra with Physics for Oliver and Trigonometry for Nadia and Ian). Some subjects won't be wrapped up until May 7. I had planned on having Nadia and Ian read The Scarlet Letter and That Hideous Strength during the fourth quarter. Nadia read That Hideous Strength during the third quarter instead of Crime and Punishment. Ian is still going to read That Hideous Strength, but Nadia has opted to read Hamlet instead of Crime and Punishment. Both of them have selected Dracula instead of The Scarlet Letter. I still plan to have Ian read The Scarlet Letter sometime in 11th or 12th grade, but it seems unlikely Nadia will ever end up reading that book as she doesn't need to take any literature courses at Liberty. Oliver is currently reading Listening for Lions by Gloria Whelan, and his other book for the fourth quarter will be The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by Frank Baum. He read six books from The Chronicles of Narnia in addition to A Wrinkle in Time during the first three quarters of seventh grade. 

Technically our last day of school won't be until May 25 because of the "field trips" we'll be taking in Europe in May. For months they've been showing availability to take one (expensive) tour of Buckingham Palace through the end of March, and then they had far more options starting in July. Yesterday they finally had tickets available for the expensive tour in May. Paul really wanted to go to Buckingham Palace. He didn't want to see the changing of the guard (which is free). We didn't go there when we were in London in 2002, and since Paul and I will probably never be in England again, Paul was willing to splurge. Most of the places we are visiting in May will not be "repeats" for Paul and me. I think the Tower of London will be our only repeat in the United Kingdom, and we'll visit four places we've already been during our one day in Paris. 

I only have two months left of homeschooling a daughter. The time has flown by. She is very excited about her new upcoming adventure. She and Maddie went shopping for clothes recently, and they got matching peasant skirts that they are both planning to wear on the first day of the semester at Liberty in August. In terms of my years of having at least one child at home (who hasn't yet graduated from high school), almost eighteen of the twenty-three years have been completed. I'm in the "last quarter" of my years as the mom of a baby, toddler, preschooler, or homeschooler. Nadia is taking three courses through Liberty this semester. The only math she's doing right now is preparing to take the College Algebra CLEP test. The only subjects I'm giving her a grade in this semester are economics and English. I had intended for her to do physics this year with Ian, but she really doesn't like physics, already had enough science credits for high school, and if she doesn't want to go to graduate school, she doesn't need to take physics in her undergraduate program. 

I've started to put a little bit of thought into plans for the next school year. It will be strange only having two kids at home. Oliver and Ian are not accustomed to doing science together, but I'm planning on having them both do biology next year and do the dissections with the coop in the fall. I think next year will be the only year the two boys do science together because Ian wants to do forensic science during his senior year, and I think Oliver will do general science when he's in 9th grade. I did Fix it Grammar with Nadia and Ian and had been doing it with Oliver, but it wasn't working this year with him, so I switched to the Giggly Guide to Grammar, which was a good fit, but it's just one book. This week I chose another grammar book for Oliver to do next year. I never did a vocabulary textbook with Nadia or Ian, but I started having him use Wordly Wise this year, and I plan to continue that next year. For social studies, I decided to have the boys do a year of World Geography by Notgrass. I used a Notgrass book for the first time in the fall (government), and I liked it. I'm not as crazy about the Basic Economics books I chose for this semester. Previously the kids had done four volumes of Mystery of History and four volumes of The Story of the World. For math Ian will do calculus (Life of Fred), and Oliver will do Pre-Algebra through Teaching Textbooks. One school related thing that will be new next year is that it looks like I'll be starting a three-year term on the MCS school board.

We have had at least one guinea pig in our house since December 2016. Most of the years we had two guinea pigs. Our time with Lily came to an unexpected end on Sunday. We have been dog sitting Cooper for fifteen days (he'll be with us for ten more days). Unfortunately, while we were at church on Sunday he pushed open Nadia's bedroom door, dismantled the guinea pig cage, and killed Lily. It was so shocking and heartbreaking. We know he was just acting on instinct, but it was very sad. Cooper has been in our house many months over the last 2+ years, so it really caught us off guard. If Nadia wasn't about spend the summer at Camp Susque and then move to Virginia in August, we'd get a replacement guinea pig for her but given how little time she has left at home and the fact that she was the only one who interacted with the guinea pig, we are not replacing Lily. Milo is our only pet. There's an elderly couple that lives near our home who has a 16.5-year-old Bichon Frise. Hopefully Milo will also live a long life and not have an untimely death like Lily did. Other unexpected (but much happier) news would be that my dad has recently become engaged. He and Karen are planning to get married this summer. The other unexpected, happy news is that my sister is expecting her tenth child. I say "unexpected" because my sister is 51 years old. I think my dad's third wedding and my sister's tenth delivery might both take place in July. Life is full of so many twists and turns. 

Thankful Thursday

 1, Paul, Pop Pop, and I enjoyed watching the boys in their performance of "The Museum of His Story" at our church on August 2.

2. I was thrilled to see Nadia on August 3 and hear about the four weeks she spent at Camp Susque. 

3. The week of August 4 we watched a few movies at home as a family - IF, Fall Guy, and Unsung Hero.

4. We enjoyed having dinner at Texas Roadhouse on August 7 to celebrate Oliver's 12th birthday. I am so grateful that he is part of our family!

5. Oliver had an uneventful physical on August 12, and I had an uneventful dentist appointment on August 5.

6. I enjoyed having lunch with Tab on August 13 to celebrate her birthday! 

7. The five of us plus Cheri enjoyed a We are Messengers concert at a church near our home on August 13.

8. I'm thankful that we have the resources to pay for getting new rear brakes and three new tires on Paul's car on August 8. That car has been used very little over the last year, but that has changed recently as we've been having Nadia drive that car even though it's a bit uncomfortable for the five of us to ride in that car at the same time.   

9. Nathaniel and Julianna spent several hours at our home on August 8. Friends are a blessing!

10. Nadia, Ian, and I served as Compassion volunteers at a concert on August 16. Paul and Oliver also attended the concert. 

11. We got our very first picture of the six of us - meaning our first family picture that included Milo! A friend organized a Sunflower Festival, and we got our picture taken there on Sunday afternoon. 

12. We had a safe drive to Maryland on August 19 and were able to walk through the Utz factory en route to the Towfighis home. Joe graciously got up very early on Tuesday morning to drive us to BWI. We had a safe flight o Anchorage and were able to see Denali from the air! The weather was gorgeous on Tuesday and today (sunny with a high of about 61 degrees). We're so thankful we are able to travel to see this beautiful state and that we are getting very close to achieving the goal of visiting all fifty states! 

13. The Seiberts are watching Milo for us. We'll return the favor for them and watch Cooper in November. So thankful Milo does so well with them when we're away! We're also thankful that our neighbors are giving some food/water to Lily, and their son is also mowing our lawn once in our absence. 

14. We have liked the two places we've stayed so far in Alaska - an Airbnb in Girdwood and Tides Inn in Seward. 

15. We were able to see three moose on our hike in Girdwood yesterday morning, saw a bear cub this morning when we were driving to the zip lining course, saw salmon in Anchorage, saw some fish jumping in Seward, and saw an otter in the harbor near our hotel this evening. The bird we've seen the most often so far has been the magpie. We hiked to the Byron Glacier, and we hiked toward the Exit Glacier. 

16. Today we went zip lining! It was the first time Paul or I had done this, and it was the most exciting one the kids had ever done. We zip lined eight times. Some were as short as 65 feet long and others were as long as 1,100 feet long. We also walked across three suspension bridges and rappelled twice - once down 60 feet and the second time down 40 feet. 

17. We have enjoyed the pizza we've eaten, and we had delicious gelato last night. Oliver enjoyed his clam chowder this evening. 

18. The kids each earned a Junior Ranger badge as well as a patch at Kenai Fjords today. 

19. We encountered a LOT of flies during our hike with a park ranger to Exit Glacier today, but otherwise we haven't encountered any pesky insects. 

20. Everything went smoothly with the TSA on Tuesday, and we are all healthy!

Snow Day

The snow that the kids encountered at the ski resort on Wednesday was primarily manmade. We had our first snow that actually accumulated on the ground yesterday. I'd estimate we got about four inches. I had planned to sign the kids up for ten weeks of ice-skating lessons, but the day before we drove to Chicago for Christmas, I found out what the schedule will be for the spring musical rehearsals at MCS. I already knew they'd miss some lessons due to our vacation in February, but when I learned they'd miss even more due to musical rehearsals, it didn't make any sense to sign them up for the class. I contacted one of the instructors to set up some private lessons instead. The first one was supposed to happen yesterday afternoon, but as it was snowing at that time and the ice-skating rink is 30 minutes away, I cancelled their lessons. Oliver's was rescheduled to this afternoon. It turned into a date with dad. We drove in two vehicles to church. Nadia, Ian, and I came home after church. Paul and Oliver went out to eat at KFC and then went ice skating for 2.5 hours of which 30 minutes of that was a lesson. 

We didn't leave the house on Friday or Saturday (except for Paul who went to work on Friday). I spent the extra free time doing some data entry for a missionary and doing some planning for future trips. Sometimes I am mocked for planning so far in advance, but honestly, sometimes it's necessary. In December I contacted our Representative to try to get tickets to tour the White House and FBI in March. I was too late for getting tickets for the FBI. We *might* get tickets for the White House. We'll find out sometime next month. I did recently get tickets for Ford's Theatre for April. It's too soon to attempt (again!) to get Washington Monument tickets. I had tickets for the White House, Washington Monument, and Ford's Theatre in 2020, but those were all cancelled. I'm trying again four years later. Although I know where we plan to go in 2025 (Hawaii for one trip and Louisiana/Texas for the other), I have done VERY little research into the Hawaii trip yet. In contrast, I started doing research for our trip to Europe that we're hoping to make it the spring of 2026. I know that seems SO far in advance, but honestly, I spent years planning our big road trip out west that we took in 2021. I like starting to make the itinerary for a big trip farther in advance so that as the months go by, I can tweak it as I learn of other places we might want to visit, etc. 

My current hypothetical itinerary for Europe has us staying there for about 2.5 weeks and visiting Paris, Amsterdam, Belgium, England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Ireland. Nadia had requested that we go to Paris, Rome, and England. I don't think we'll actually go to Italy in 2025. I want to see the tulips in Amsterdam, and Paul wants to visit Waterloo and Ypres in Belgium. Paul and I made three trips to Europe in 2002-2004 so, it's been twenty years since I've been there. We visited Spain, Italy, France, and England together; since that time, Paul visited Italy and Poland without me while attending two conferences. I went on a trip to Austria/Germany in 1997 with my family.  I have listed some things in our itinerary that would be repeats for Paul and me (Eiffel Tower, Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Saint Chapelle, Versailles, and the Arc de Triomphe), but mostly I'm planning to include experiences that will be new ones for all five of us. There are other places in Europe we'd like to visit at some time in the future. If the Lord tarries, we shall see where we end up traveling in 2027 and beyond. Paul and I both prefer to splurge on experiences/making memories over purchasing "things." I'm very thankful we have the resources to take our kids to various states and other countries! I purchased our tickets for visiting Alaska recently. Because of getting an Alaskan airline credit card, we can check our baggage for free, we got one ticket for free (using miles), and we only paid $99 each for two of our round-trip tickets. We still have quite a few miles left over. I'm hoping to use those miles for one of our two vacations in 2025. I also have a decent number of miles left over with American Airlines that I hope to use next year. 

One sad event from the last week was the passing of Nadia's guinea pig, Peppa. In October she started losing some hair in a few different places on her body. Looking online we saw that there were a wide variety of possible causes. We started giving her some vitamins as that was the cure for one of the possible problems. It's possible we could have taken her to a vet and possibly there was a cure for whatever was ailing her, but we didn't want to end up spending hundreds of dollars, especially as there still might not have been a cure. We've owned a total of five guinea pigs. We have one at the moment. Three of the other four passed away when they were three years old. Jenna lived five years. Peppa lived the second longest as she was just a few weeks shy of turning four years old. I hope that Lily lives at least until Nadia graduates from high school. I hope Milo lives for another ten years. The passing away of pets is my least favorite aspect of owning a pet. I retrieved the dead bodies from the cage the last two times. The first guinea pig who died was put to sleep at a vet. Ian did the yucky job for me this time of retrieving her body from the cage. 

Welcome, Lily!

In December 2016 we got the kids their first two pets - two guinea pigs whom they named Jenna and Patches. Guinea pigs were on the main floor of our home until December 2020 when Milo joined our family. Patches passed away in February of 2020. We had two rabbits for a couple of months after she passed, but when that didn't work out, we got two new guinea pigs which meant that for about 20 months we had three guinea pigs. Jenna is the only one of our guinea pigs who has made it to the age of five. Patches is the only guinea pig who has been to a vet, but all he did was put her to sleep when she was a little shy of 3.5 years old. The reported average lifespan for guinea pigs varies from 3-5, 4-7, and 5-8 years. The record holder lived to be fifteen. The first guinea pig the kids and I got to know was one named Mickey, and he lived to be more than ten years old. Buttercup passed away last week. She was a little shy of 4 years old. I had to retrieve the bodies of Buttercup and Jenna from the cage which was highly unpleasant. Paul has been the one to bury the bodies of all three guinea pigs who have passed away. There was a brief period when Jenna was our only guinea pig, but most of the time we've had 2 guinea pigs at a time. Unfortunately, it seems that Peppa is a bit of a bully, so we haven't been able to put Lily in the cage with her. We've been keeping them separate, but Paul is planning to make a divider so the two can share the same (large) cage. I ordered a second water bottle and second house which are supposed to arrive on Friday. Nadia thinks we should get another young guinea pig so that Lily will have a companion. We haven't made a decision on that. If we do, she's naming the next one Rose. I never would have guessed we'd buy five guinea pigs over a span of seven years! I'm hoping Lily lives until Nadia graduates from high school. Once Nadia goes to college, we won't be buying any more guinea pigs. Considering she graduates a little bit more than 2.5 years from now, Lily should make it that long. 

Today I'm giving thanks:

1. That Paul and Oliver were able to help with the set construction for Sound of Music last Friday evening while Nadia, Ian, and I helped to set up for the OCC shoebox packing party.

2. That the kids and I were able to work with other volunteers to pack 339 shoeboxes on Saturday.

3. That Xandir and Faith were able to spend about five hours at our home Saturday afternoon before their parents came over to join us for dinner. They helped decorate the house because it was Melinda's birthday. When I invited them, I had no idea it was her birthday, but once I found out I planned the menu around her favorite foods. The kids put up a boatload of birthday banners around the house and blew up at least 30 balloons. She appreciated it! After dinner eight of us played Quiplash together, and then Faith, Nadia, and the four adults played Taboo together.

4. I've really been enjoying our Scribd membership lately. We just pay for a month from time to time, but it's such a great service for audiobooks. I really enjoyed The Last Exchange by Charles Martin, and now I'm listening to Evidence Not Seen, which Margie and my friend, Joanna had both recommended to me awhile back. I enjoy being able to listen while I walk the dog, and also while I drive to and from Sound of Music rehearsals. 

5. The kids have really been enjoying hosting a co-op at our home. They wish it wasn't ending in three weeks. Two of the families have agreed to resume it in March, and that session might last as long as twelve weeks. We haven't worked out the details yet. Paul led a dissection of six clams this week. 

6. The kids have already been asking when we can visit Aunt Janet again. Since we are planning to go to Ecuador and Alaska next year, I can't picture us also going to Reno. Even though she sold her home on Long Island two years ago, she still spends part of the summer out there. I asked her if we could spend a few days with her this summer at her cabana at the beach if we stayed at a hotel. She thinks that will probably be possible! It's much easier (and cheaper) for us to drive to New York than fly to Nevada. The kids would also like to see Ziggy again. If Brent, Robin, and Ziggy spend some time on Long Island next summer, maybe we can overlap our trip so that we can have at least one day with Ziggy. We still have some National Park sites to visit in New York so a trip to Long Island would also help us with that goal. 

7. On Monday night as I was driving Nadia and Ian home from their choir rehearsals, Ian asked Nadia and I to rank our day on a scale of 1-10. When I turned the question on him, he said that lately all of his days have been tens. What a great attitude! I was feeling rather exhausted that day due to running a lot of errands (orthodontist, shopping, choir, etc.), so his comment was a good reminder about having an attitude of gratitude. 

8. Although the kids aren't too keen on chorus class at MCS thus far (new teacher this year), they are really enjoying the art class. 

9. I wasn't keen on the last two musicals that MCS did; I'm thrilled that they are doing Music Man in April. I hope that Nadia and Ian will both be able to participate in that musical!

ABCs of 2021

A - Our senior pastor, Pastor Arlie, retired in May. Nadia and Ian attended a one-week art camp at our local public school. We toured Shedd Aquarium with the Benners. We spent two days in Arizona- we visited Horseshoe Bend, the Grand Canyon, Lowell Observatory, Walnut Canyon, Meteor Crater, and Petrified Forest. 

B - We visited the Benners in Chicago in September. Wendy, Grace, and Rachel also spent time at our house in August and Wendy and all four of her kids spent some time with us here in December. One of the kids' favorite national parks that we visited this year was Badlands in South Dakota. We visited forts/ battlefields in Michigan, Montana, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi, Kentucky, and Tennessee. All five of us individually read many books, (Nadia read more than 77 books this year, Ian read 50 books, Oliver read 24 books), and the kids and I (and sometimes Paul) also listened to 132 audiobooks. 

C - Paul and I each had two doses of Pfizer's COVID vaccine; we don't plan on getting booster shots or having our kids receive that vaccination. None of our immediate family have tested positive for COVID, but some of our extended family members have had COVID including Paul's mom and Yvonne's family. The most recent case was Margie who just tested positive yesterday. Her chemo treatment had to be postponed. I took the kids to see a production of Charlotte's Web.  I signed the kids up for co-op classes, but we were only able to attend once due to my broken ankle. We went to the movie theatre for the first time in 2 years in December to see Christmas with the Chosen. Earlier in the year we watched the second season of The Chosen. 

D - We visited Darien Lake amusement park in New York for the first time in May and a dairy farm in Wisconsin in September. I went almost 11 weeks without driving due to my ankle. All five of us have been doing Duolingo for several months. Paul and I are both in the fourth unit. We started a tradition this year of each child getting two dates per year with a parent. Nadia and Oliver had both dates. Ian is still waiting for his second bowling date with Paul.  

E - Paul and the kids skied at Elk Mountain in January. Nadia and I saw a production of Emma. On our way home from Long Island, we visited Thomas Edison's laboratory in New Jersey. I broke my right ankle at Effigy Mounds in Iowa on September 12 and had surgery on it at Evangelical Hospital on October 7.

F - During our final visit with Aunt Janet on Long Island, we visited Fire Island for the first time. We enjoyed learning about Henry Ford at the Henry Ford Museum, Greenfield Village, and Ford Rouge Factory in Michigan. One of the highlights was riding in a Model-T! We had new flooring installed in our dining room in October. Nadia began learning to play the flute.

G - The kids lost their second Grandma in May when Paul's mother passed away. All three kids participated in a theatre camp at Greenview Alliance Church in August. In December we spent two days at Great Wolf Lodge as part of Ian's 12th birthday celebration. On the first day of our vacation in September we stopped at President Garfield's home in Ohio. 

H - In July we traded our grey 2012 Toyota Sienna for a white 2022 Honda Odyssey. 

I - During our 25-day vacation we drove through 25 states. The only state we drove through but didn't do anything in was Indiana. Ian entered middle school this fall, which meant that he joined the youth group in June. The boys went 21 months without going ice skating due to COVID, but then we went ice skating twice in December.

J - The kids earned around 30 Junior Ranger badges on the vacation. They each have more than 100 badges altogether! My niece, Jenna, is now living two hours south of us when classes are in session at Messiah University. We were able to go to a Christmas show and take her out to dinner on December 4. Sadly, Nadia's five-year-old guinea pig, Jenna, passed away on December 17. 

K - The kids spent a day kayaking and fishing in June. We visited Helen Keller's birthplace in Alabama. We learned more about horses at the Kentucky Horse Park. Milo had a fabulous day with us at Knoebels amusement park!

L - In Montana we visited the Little Bighorn Battlefield.

M - Our first year with Milo and first visit to Mount Rushmore.  Pop Pop joined the kids and I at Montage Mountain water park. The kids spent five days at Good News Camp at Mountain View Bible Camp. We visited Mesa Verde in Colorado and Mammoth Cave in Kentucky. Paul and the kids played miniature golf in Tennessee. We enjoyed watching the first season of the Mysterious Benedict Society on Disney+.

Talking with their cousins in Quito via FaceTime

N - Nadia was in an online drama production of Nancy Blue.  Aunt Janet moved from New York to Nevada.

O - Ian's first year of seeing an orthodontist (he had expanders and then a retainer this year)

P - The boys attended 6 nights of overnight camp at Pocono Mountain Bible Camp. We visited Paterson Great Falls in New Jersey, Petroglyph in New Mexico, the Parthenon in Tennessee, and Pipestone National Monument in Minnesota. Oliver began learning to play the piano.

Q - Nadia participated in Bible quizzing events in Indiana, Ohio, and Oklahoma. The team she was on won in Oklahoma which meant Nadia won a little over $1,000 college scholarship. Ian also participated in the event in Ohio. Yvonne and her family (minus Jenna) moved to Quito in September.

R- We had a new roof installed on our home in October. The kids and I made our annual trip to Reptiland. 

S - We spent 2.5 days at Six Flags America and Six Flags New England. Nadia spent 7 nights at Camp Susque and participated in a two-week Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs theatre camp. In July we visited the Springfield Armory, Springfield Museums, and Old Sturbridge Village. Oliver received stitches under his chin following an accident at the swimming pool. We visited science museums in New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Alabama, West Virginia, and Tennessee.

T - The kids took tennis lessons for two weeks in Lewisburg in the spring. We visited Theodore Roosevelt's Inaugural Site in Buffalo in May and his National Park in North Dakota. The kids and I saw a production of The Tempest in August. Nadia became a teenager in June! We watched the first 5 episodes of the new Tuttle Twins show.

U- We spent three days in Utah at Snowbird Ski Resort, Bryce Canyon National Park, horseback riding at Kodachrome, Zion National Park, and touring a slot canyon. 

V - The boys attended two weeks of VBS, and Nadia joined them for one of the weeks. I started making better videos. Speaking of which, I finished Ian's 12th birthday video yesterday.

W - Paul's dad joined us at the WWII weekend at the Mid Atlantic Air Museum. The kids went white water rafting for the first time in the Poconos with the Towfighis in June and again with Paul in Oklahoma City in September. I went 9.5 weeks without using my right leg to walk. We enjoyed spending a day at Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. 

X - Ruth had x-rays of her right ankle taken in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. 

Y - We had a great day at Yellowstone National Park.

Z - Nadia had voice lessons via Zoom during the spring semester. She also chats with her cousin Rachel by Zoom on a regular basis.

Susie gave Nadia and Ian each a drawing lesson

13.5 Years Old

Ian turned 12 on December 12, but he hasn't had his birthday date yet because he wants to go bowling. His date has been delayed until Paul's back isn't giving him so much grief. Nadia's half birthday is on December 24, and she asked to go ice skating for her date. Since neither Paul nor I are up to ice skating right now, we changed her date with Dad into ice skating with her friend, Jill. Yesterday we left church with four children. We stopped at a Dunkin Donuts for breakfast sandwiches and then the kids skated for almost 2.5 hours. Jill had never gone ice skating before. With Nadia's help, Jill improved a lot during the time we were there. The boys hadn't been ice skating since the beginning of March in 2020, but all of the time they spent rollerblading over the past 21 months was very beneficial to their ice-skating skills. While the kids were ice skating Paul stayed in the van while I sat in front of the fire inside the building because the bench that I was sitting on bothered his back. Although we hadn't been there since the beginning of March 2020, we plan to return next Sunday afternoon for a Christmas party with Wendy's family and then weekly for ice skating lessons beginning on January 6.

This month is the first time that Nadia used some of her money to buy her brothers Christmas gifts. I'm not sure if she is giving anything to Paul or myself for Christmas. She made the largest purchase of her life recently when she bought herself a loft bed. Previously her most expensive purchases had been less than $100 each (Lego sets and a hoverboard were her most expensive purchases in the past). Nadia earns money through reading ($1 per 1,000 pages), babysitting ($5/hour), and Bible memorization ($10/chapter of Romans or James). So far, she has memorized Romans chapters 1-5 and James 1-2. She gave me $175 for the bed, and I paid the tax. She always loves sleeping on a top bunk. Now she is sleeping as high as if she were on a top bunk and has room to store large Lego bins under her bed. What had been her bed ever since she moved out of a crib many moons ago was moved to Ian's room to convert his bed into a bunk bed. Ian benefited from his purchase as he is now sleeping on the top bunk in his room. I purchased a twin mattress for the bottom bunk, which will be a guest bed when cousins are visiting us. Adam will be sleeping on the new mattress later this week. We are planning on putting two air mattresses in Nadia's room later this week for Susie and Rachel, and Grace and Wendy will sleep downstairs on a sofa bed. Milo has gone from sleeping in a crate to sleeping in a bed not far off the ground to sleeping on a bed about six feet off the ground as Nadia and Ian take turns having him sleep with them. 

Four other recent changes in Nadia's life would be that her first pet passed away, she switched from Saxon Algebra I to Teaching Textbooks Algebra 1, she stopped going to FBC's youth group on Sunday nights, and she switched from the flute back to the piano. She hadn't taken piano lessons for more than a year as she took voice lessons while she was in seventh grade. Right now, she's in the beginning of Level 4, Oliver is halfway through Level 1A, and Ian is at the very end of Level 6. Because she switched textbooks a little less than halfway through the school year, she has been doing more than one math lesson a day on the Teaching Textbooks app on the iPad so that she can finish it by the beginning of May. She's completed 13 lessons and one test so far, and on 12 of the 13 lessons she did much better than she was doing when she was using the Saxon textbook. Hopefully that will continue to be true. I had to purchase the Teaching Textbooks course for her, but thankfully Yvonne had loaned me the Saxon textbook, so I only purchased one Algebra I curriculum for her. We're not exactly sure of the reasons, but after they had to take a break from the youth group due to our vacation and then my broken ankle, Nadia and Ian decided to only attend the youth group at our church on Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights and stopped attending the youth group at another church on Sunday nights. For the time being we're all typically at home on Sunday nights.

Jenna was Nadia's first pet. I guess we should have seen it coming because Nadia had said that Jenna had been sleeping more lately, but still it was very sad and a shock to find her dead in the cage on Friday morning. She was a little over five years old, and the typical lifespan for a pet guinea pig is 5-7 years. Ian's first pet (Patches) died in February 2020 at the age of 3. He cried a lot over her passing. Oliver also cried when his goldfish died at the end of December last year. Patches had been put to sleep by a vet, and Paul buried her on the company's property as he took her to a vet on the way to work. I flushed the goldfish down the toilet. Paul didn't go to work on Wednesday or Thursday because of his back, but he did go to work on Friday, so I had the unpleasant task of removing a dead guinea pig from the cage. The things we do for our kids! I wrapped her body in towels, put her in a plastic bin, and put the bin in the garage. Paul buried her on our property yesterday. Nadia is more stoic and far less prone to crying than her brothers. I don't believe she cried over Jenna's passing, but she was definitely shaken up on Friday over it. I think it also helps that she still has Peppa (her guinea pig who will turn two in a couple of months) and Milo. Peppa and Buttercup didn't get along very well in the beginning. Jenna was the peacemaker who got along with all of her cage mates - Patches, Peppa, and Buttercup. We're hoping that Peppa and Buttercup will get along despite the absence of Jenna. We have two wooden houses in their cage as all three didn't fit in one house so they can either go in a house together or they can each be in a different house. Jenna was very loved and is definitely missed. 

In many ways Nadia hasn't changed over the last six months. For example, she still loves to play with Legos with Ian, listen to episodes of Adventures in Odyssey, and read. Recently she read The Hobbit, several books from the Mysterious Benedict Society series, and reread several of the Harry Potter books. The majority of the items on her Christmas wish list were either books or earrings featuring animals. She still loves attending overnight camp; she's attending a winter camp for a weekend in January for the first time ever. I can't believe that in less than five months Nadia will have completed middle school. She's very excited about having her first cell phone when she turns fourteen! 

Thankful Thursday

 

1. I took the boys to the orthodontist on Monday. It was a very quick appointment, and he said that I don't need to return for 6 months because Ian needs to wear his retainer longer before the next step and Oliver isn't ready to begin. 

2. I used to shop the clearance racks at department stores several times a year (primarily JCPenney or Sears), but since malls have pretty much become a thing of the past, I haven't done that in several years. On Monday I used a $5 off coupon at Kohl's to get a winter dress for Nadia for $7.41 that was originally $68. I get most of the kids' clothes at yard sales, but it's not always easy to find dresses for Nadia now that she's older. It was very easy to get dresses for her at yard sales when she was younger.

3. Nadia and Ian really enjoyed the color war event at youth group the previous Wednesday night as well roller skating with the youth group last night. They also attended youth group at FBC on Sunday night. 

4. All three kids enjoyed VBS last week. Ian was thrilled to be one of the eleven children picked to "plaster the pastor" with paint on Thursday night. 

5. We bought a lot of fruit on Monday at ALDI. Eating plums, grapes, cherries, nectarines, peaches, and other types of fresh fruit is something Nadia and I really, really enjoy about the summer! Oliver has discovered he likes honeydew as much as I do. His obsession with watermelon has waned some this year.

6. Peppa's eye healed on its own. Whew! So glad we didn't need to take her to the vet, and also thankful she seems fine now.

7. We are thankful we were able to purchase a minivan during this time when it's challenging to do so. The kids and I like it a lot more than the Sienna for a variety of reasons. I'm also thankful for the 9 years we have been able to use the Sienna.

8. The kids enjoyed going to Dairy Queen on Tuesday night. It wasn't a cheap dinner! Unfortunately they didn't have any brownies as Nadia and I wanted to get a Blizzard that had brownie in it, but we still enjoyed what we selected. It brought back memories as I remember going to DQ when I was a child in Texas. When I was a principal, DQ actually delivered school lunches to our students once a week. Those school meals were FAR cheaper than what we paid on Tuesday night. 

9. Helen joined us for lunch and swimming yesterday after art camp. 

10. I installed 60 Dig Defence barriers around the fence yesterday morning so that Milo *hopefully* won't be able to escape. He wants to spend more time outside than he usually does. Paul needs to put something on the bottom of the two gates, and then Milo can have free reign in the backyard without a leash when he wants to go outside!

11. Paul is generally very good at rolling with the punches. He had a lot of practice with that this week. On Monday he drove to Reading for naught, he had to drive to Stroudsburg on Tuesday evening to sign the title, and I entered the wrong month for his dentist appointment. He showed up on Tuesday morning when actually his appointment is in August. OOPS! He was very gracious about my error. Thanks, honey! Would you believe the woman who failed to tell me on Monday that the van had been sold on Saturday night texted me on Tuesday asking if Paul had come down on Monday and said the vehicle was still there. What in the world?!? I told her that Paul had left work early and driven two hours in vain only to be told the van had been sold on Saturday evening. Oi vey!

12. Nadia and Ian have been enjoying the art camp this week. I want to frame at least one of Nadia's paintings. All of the projects have been with watercolor. It's the first time I've ever dropped my kids off at a public school! There are only eight kids in the art class - Helen, Ian, and Nadia are three of the eight.

13. Oliver's chin collided with a wall in the swimming pool yesterday. At first I thought only his lip was bleeding, but there was also a gash under his chin. Thankfully, our neighbor was also at the pool. She said Nadia, Ian, and Helen could stay for another hour. Helen's mom came an hour later to pick her up, and our  neighbor took Nadia and Ian home along with her two kids and a friend of her daughter. Years ago when Ian had a gash under his chin at the ice skating rink, I took him to the Urgent Care, and they said the only could treat with glue. Since his wound required sutures, I had to then take him to the ER. Thankfully the policy has changed over the years as they did stitch Oliver's wound at the Urgent Care this afternoon. We had a very small wait. Oliver was a trooper because wow it looked very painful to receive the injection in his face to numb the area. He screamed but was in the words of the doctor "very compliant." Unfortunately, the stitches meant we had to cancel our plans to visit DelGrosso's today (and we had invited four other people to join us). He can't swim until they come out. Hopefully he will be more careful in the future! I'll attempt to reschedule the DelGrosso's trip for sometime in August. The tickets will cost more then as today they were on sale for only $16 (half off). 

Tennis Take Two

The kids had tennis lessons three weeks ago, and this week they are having their second week of lessons. Oliver really wanted to do another week of lessons, Ian was ambivalent, and Nadia really did not want to take any more lessons. I was leaning toward signing them up after I found out that Tab had signed her boys up for lessons this week. I left the decision up to Paul, and he was adamant that all three should take another week of tennis lessons. The first week of May my three kids were the only ones at some of the lessons. Another boy (Hugh) joined them one day that week. This week there have been five or six kids at each lesson as Hugh came twice this week. The Coach is fully vaccinated so he didn't mind it if my kids didn't wear masks. Micah and Isaiah haven't been wearing masks during tennis lessons either. Hugh has been the only one wearing a mask. On Monday the temperature was in the low 60's, on Tuesday it was in the low 70's, and today it was in the high 80's. 

On Monday Tab met a friend for lunch. I walked around the park with Milo for two hours while listening to A Girl of the Limberlost. I've really enjoyed two

of Gene Stratton-Porter's books recently so I am planning on listening to five more of her books this summer. I want the kids to listen to Freckles at some point in the future. On Tuesday I walked with just Milo for part of the time while Tab ran some errands, and then she walked with us. Because of the heat, Tab didn't feel up to walking today. I chatted with her in her vehicle (with the AC on) for part of the time and walked around the park with Milo part of the time. Today Tab met us at Walmart prior to the tennis lessons so that they could do a tire rotation on the van during tennis lessons. It took me 7.5 months to drive 5,000 miles due to COVID. Last October the Walmart Auto center wasn't even open due to COVID. I am grateful they have reopened because tire rotations are free because I bought the tires there. Tomorrow I'm planning to treat the kids at sweetFrog to celebrate the completion of their tennis lessons for this summer. It's over priced frozen yogurt in my opinion, but the kids really enjoy picking out their toppings so I like to take them there at least once a year. 

Can you find Nadia on this ride?

For years Nadia has been asking for us to join a co-op again. We participated in two different co-ops several years ago. Neither of them met all year. I had contemplated joining two others that did meet all year long, but for a variety of reasons I hadn't done so. As is normally the case, Ian would prefer to stay home. One of the co-ops put on a production of The Sound of Music earlier this month. Because Nadia can't try out to be in Tuck Everlasting because we'll be away for 3+ weeks in September, she really wanted to be in this co-ops productions during the next school year. Students in grades 5-8 will put on a Christmas production in December, and students in grades 8-12 will be on another (TBD) production next May. Hindsight is 20/20 as they say. This past school year would have been the ideal year to give this co-op a whirl. This school year is not idea in light of our lengthy vacation in September, but I've decided to show up on registration day on June 15 to see if there will be room in the classes that the kids selected. The co-op meets on Tuesdays. During the fall semester we would be there from 12:00-4:45. It's held at a church 25 minutes from our house. Since Ian will turn 12 in December, I will consider him old enough to babysit Oliver at that point. Unless they add more courses for spring, I think Nadia will just have drama from 3:30-4:45 on Tuesdays starting in January and the boys can stay at home. 

Oliver selected three courses for the fall: art, baking, and one that will involve discussing character traits after listening to a true story. Ideally I would have signed him up for music, art, and some type of physical education, but the colored bells (music) is being offered at the same time as art, and they aren't offering a gym class for grades 4-5. Nadia and Ian are planning to take three classes together this fall - painting (grades 6-12), drama (grades 5-8), and a foam sword fighting gym class similar to Dagorhir, Belegarth, and Darkon. Nadia hopes to take a fourth class - Home Economics (sewing, calligraphy, setting a proper table, cooking, etc.). This co-op has a homeschool graduation at Camp Susque each May, and Nadia would like to participate in that. So we shall see how it goes whether this ends up being a one and done experience or if we keep participating in this co-op for years to come. They offer courses in history, science, math, etc., but I wasn't interested in signing up for any of those. I plan to homeschool the kids in the morning at home on Tuesdays and then spend our afternoons at the co-op in the fall. The past few years (prior to COVID) Nadia and Ian had taken classes at MCS (art and chorus) as well as participated in a homeschool gym class at our church. I would be open to signing them up for a homeschool gym class that started in January, but I said if we do this co-op, I am not signing them up for classes at MCS this year. She still wanted to do the co-op this year. Our vacation would have caused the kids to miss four weeks of co-op, so I decided to shorten our vacation by one day so that they would be able to attend the first session and "only" miss three weeks of co-op. 

Milo's surgery

Yesterday morning we dropped Milo off around 7:45am at the vet. He was there for a little over 5 hours for his castration. He came home wearing an Elizabethan collar or "cone of shame." He hates that thing! We tried making him one using a pool noodle, but it turned out the pool noodles we have at home aren't quite large enough to work for that purpose. We are going to try and buy a larger pool noodle tomorrow. He's not allowed to run or jump for two weeks, and the collar is to prevent him from licking the surgical site. Yesterday the poor guy was just miserable. If we are holding him or he's sitting next to me on the couch, we can take off the collar if I make sure he doesn't lick himself, but yesterday he just didn't want to stay on the couch. I don't think he consumed very much of the pain pill I tried to give him last night so this morning I covered his pills in peanut butter, which did the trick. The poor guy cried and kept Ian awake until 12:30am. For his sake and also Ian and Nadia's sakes, I hope he doesn't cry as much tonight. I was so tired that I slept right through it except for the one time Ian came into my bedroom around 11:30pm holding Milo and asking what he should do with him. I didn't see Paul at all yesterday, but I figured he was at home at that point so I asked Ian to ask Daddy about it since Daddy wasn't asleep. 

When I went it to check him at 7:30am, he was in the crate, but he wasn't wearing his collar. Sometime during the night he managed to get it off, and Milo was licking himself when I opened Ian's bedroom door. Today he spent a lot more time in my arms or beside me on the couch, but he did have to spend some time in the crate with the "cone" on when he wouldn't stay on the couch. Of course there is no way to communicate to him that he can't be active for two weeks. I cannot wait until these two weeks are over. We also got him microchipped yesterday plus paid for lifetime dog registration with the state of PA. Altogether we spent about $500 on him over the past week at the vet. Back in January I thought I had selected one heartworm medication and one for flea/tick prevention. Well it turned out I picked two different heartworm medications although the one does have some flea prevention in it. The vet had approved the prescriptions back in January. I wish they had noticed my error then. They recommended two different oral medications for flea/tick prevention that cost about $200 a year or one specific flea/tick collar. I chose the collar since it was $60 for 8 months. Hopefully it will do the trick. I had to remove a few ticks from him last month. Thankfully I had a PetSmart gift card so the flea/tick collar didn't actually cost us any money. Here's to hoping and praying that after he recovers from his surgery his desire to mark his territory will be far less.

Nadia started a little photoshoot of our three guinea pigs yesterday, and after she took quite a few pictures, she asked me to take some more. I will say this is one advantage of guinea pigs - no need for neutering or spaying them since we have three females. We don't have to worry about them having babies, and they have no issues with marking their territory. They occasionally poop when they are out of the cage, but their pellets are dry. They only pee in their cage, thankfully! Buttercup and Peppa are about 14 months old, and Jenna is 4.5 years old. Peppa is the largest of the three. Owning four guinea pigs over the past 4+ years has been FAR, FAR, FAR cheaper than owning a dog for four months. We do love Milo very much. The kids and I really missed him during the hours he was at the vet yesterday.

We're down to three weeks left of school! The boys finished their science curriculum this week. Nadia will miss the final ASL class in two weeks due to our field trip at Camp Susque, so yesterday was her last class of ASL for the semester. 

Photo credit - Nadia

A typical homeschooling day

Some homeschoolers have a tradition of recording what a typical day is like each year. One of my friends shared hers recently, so I thought it was time for me to do the same again. Here is a description of our day together on March 9, 2021. I'm not sure how many times I've written a post like this, but here's one I wrote in April 2018. 

I usually get up sometime between 6:15 and 7:00. This morning I got up at 6:20 and had showered and gotten dressed before Ian and Milo got up at 6:50. Milo typically gets up between 6:45-7:00, and Ian immediately hands him to me. I hold Milo and get his leash on him while Ian goes to the bathroom and puts on his shoes and coat. While Ian was taking Milo out this morning, I blow dried my hair. 

Sometimes Nadia sleeps in until 7:30, but if she hasn't gotten ahead with her math, then she likes to start her math promptly at 7:00, which means some mornings she gets up at 6:45 to get a shower prior to doing her math. Since we haven't been able to take a shower in our master bathroom for several years,  Nadia  and I have worked out a system that we take our showers on alternating mornings because we otherwise we're both wanting to use the shower at about the same time. I entered the password on the laptop so Nadia could start doing math on Khan academy and prepared my oatmeal and Ian's cold cereal. Paul usually leaves the house before we're up, but sometimes in the winter he doesn't leave for work as early and joins some of us for breakfast. This morning he hadn't left yet so we listened to some of Peace Child while Paul, Ian, and I were eating breakfast and Nadia was doing math. We also finished listening to Julie of the Wolves, discussed the meaning of ten vocabulary words from their grammar text, and started listening to Frog Princess by ED Baker. Oliver came down and ate some oatmeal while Nadia was finishing her math, and then he played with the Snap Circuits set. We interrupted the stories many times while I helped Nadia with her math. The boys also got dressed and brushed their teeth while Nadia continued to do her math. Ian also practiced the piano, and Oliver did part of his math lesson.

After Nadia had finished her math, gotten dressed, and taken Milo out, she started eating her breakfast around 8:30 while we all listened and discussed Judges 1-2 and Psalm 115. During this school year we've been working through the Old Testament. After the Scripture reading was over, I read Elementary Physics lesson 11 (Life of Fred) to Nadia and Ian and they answered the questions at the end. Then all four of us watched today's episode of World Watch News together. These are about ten minutes long. We also read about a country or another religion each day. Today we read about Eritrea using VOM's prayer guide. 

Nadia does science independently this year for the first time, and I've been giving her tests for the first time because starting in the fall of 2022 I have to begin giving her grades in every subject. The boys were learning about valuable minerals today (gold, silver, copper, diamonds, etc.), and they enjoyed the "mining" activity where I asked them to try to remove the chocolate chips from a cookie using only toothpicks. I don't usually let them have a cookie before lunch! While the boys were finishing science, Nadia began reading up in her room with Milo. She has to read at least 30 minutes a day from one of the books I have selected; she had been reading from Audrey of the Outback (an Australian version of Pippi Longstocking), but today she chose to read from Gold Rush Girl by Avi. The rest of the day when she is reading she can read whatever she chooses. She owns quite a few books, and I also get her more from the library. The library books she requested recently are by Beverly Lewis. While Nadia was reading, the boys each did their spelling. Oliver is in All About Spelling Level 3, and Ian is in All About Spelling Level 6. After he finished his spelling, Ian went upstairs and read until lunchtime. Today he read some of Three Go Searching by Patricia M. St. John for his required reading and Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Third Wheel for his leisure reading. While Nadia and Ian were reading, I worked with Oliver on his math lesson which focused on multiplication and division. My goal is for him to learn his times tables by the end of August.

After Oliver finished his math around 11:00, he took Milo out. After he came back in, Nadia and Ian came downstairs and the four of us had lunch while listening to more of The Frog Princess on a CD I got at the library on Monday. Over the course of the day we listened to that book for about one hour. After lunch we reviewed Spanish vocabulary for about 20 minutes. We were focusing on phrases related to going on a walk. 

From 12:00-1:00 Nadia played with Legos in Ian's room. I read the boys three picture books from 12:00-12:20 picture books from the library while they ate some pretzels. From 12:20-12:40 Oliver sat on my lap and read the last two chapters of a book about the Wreck of the Endurance out loud to me while Ian walked Milo and read a little bit more. From 12:40-1:00 Ian and I did some math together (Beast Academy 5C) and Oliver had a 20 minute turn using the Nintendo Switch.

From 1:00-1:45 the kids participated in a webinar about Holi put on by the Penn Museum. Part of the lesson involved them drawing a hibiscus, rose, marigold, and Palash tree. After the lesson was over, all four of us plus Milo went to the playground. The weather was perfect today! It was our first trip to a playground in many months, and it was Milo's very first time at a playground. A good time was had by all! The boys rode their bikes, and  Nadia, Milo, and I walked to playground. We talked to Grandma on the phone part of the time we were at the playground. I got the mail when we got home. Many times we only have junk mail that goes straight to the recycling bin, but today we received three things we appreciated in the mail. Nadia got a letter from her pen pal in Wisconsin. They each write each other two letters a month on average. We also received three Junior Ranger Badges from the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway and six books to use when we celebrate Passover next month. We usually get two free books from PJ Our Way each month, but this was an added bonus for this month. 

After we came back inside, I sat with Ian to help him finish his math while Nadia played Minecraft in her bedroom from 3:20-4:20 while chatting on Zoom with her cousin, Rachel. They typically play Minecraft together twice a day - once when Rachel finishes her online schooling, and the last 45 minutes before Nadia goes to bed at night. During that time Ian played the Switch for 45 minutes and Oliver played outside with kids in the neighborhood. At 4:30 Nadia had her weekly 30 minute voice lesson over Zoom. The kids haven't been able to use the trampoline for a little over 3 months because of a small tear in the mat. By the time the repair kit arrived in the mail, the weather was too cold. The trampoline was covered with snow for the vast majority of the past three months. They had been waiting for Paul to do the repair. Since it was in the low 60's today, I decided it was warm enough to attempt the repair. Paul doesn't usually get home from work until 8pm (M-F), and it's supposed to be cold again starting on Saturday. So I attempted the repair today. Hopefully I did a good job. It has to dry for 24 hours so around 4pm tomorrow we can see if I succeeded. It certainly was a messy job as I had to use a lot of glue, plus I had to kneel under the trampoline part of the time. After I finished cleaning up my hands (which was no small undertaking), I began cooking dinner. Some things I cook take hours to prepare. Thankfully we were having a simple dinner of croque monsieur (ham, swiss cheese, with a béchamel sauce) and applesauce tonight. 

Once Nadia's lesson was over, it was almost time for dinner. In a typical week I cook three dinners by myself, Nadia helps me cook one dinner, Ian helps me cook one dinner, we get takeout pizza once, and we have leftovers once. I use an app for meal planning and have a long list of meals that we cycle through to avoid getting into a rut, plus we regularly try new recipes. I usually schedule one night when we have breakfast for dinner (this week it will be blini because they are celebrating Maslenitsa in Russia this week), one night when we have pasta (Nadia will make baked ziti this week), one night when we have a soup, stew, or salad, one night that we eat a "sandwich" of some sort (sloppy Joe, meatball sub, pulled pork, etc.), and the fifth night is something that doesn't fit into any of those categories. We listened to The Frog Princess some more during dinner. We listened to it for about one hour altogether today. 

After we all had finished eating and I started the dishwasher, Nadia and I took Milo for a 40 minute walk while Ian played Legos and Oliver played outside. Nadia, Milo, and I walked a little over 4 miles total today! After we got home, Nadia also played outside with some of the neighbors. Ian played with Legos, read, and had a 20 minute Switch turn. Oliver really enjoyed playing whiffle ball with the neighbors this evening. After Nadia came inside, she and Ian played Legos together. Once Oliver came inside, he and I chatted. He told me he was hungry. I don't usually let the kids eat after dinner, but I let him have a bowl of cereal after he got on his pajamas.

At 8:15 I called Nadia and Ian down for our family devotions. We just recently finished a two month study of the book of Daniel, and to continue the theme of future prophecy, we've started a study of Revelation. Tonight we read and discussed part of chapter one. After we prayed together, we tucked Oliver in to his bed around 8:30, and then I threw in a load of laundry. Nadia fed the guinea pigs and gave them water prior to her second session of the day of playing Minecraft with her cousin via Zoom. She's been choosing to play Minecraft with Rachel twice a day rather than watch TV lately. Oliver was the only one who watched a little TV today. He finished an Inspector Gadget movie on Disney+ today that he had started earlier this week. 

Some days our schoolwork takes longer than it did today. We do art through Creating a Masterpiece three times a week; that takes a good chunk of time. Whenever Nadia and Ian have a bridge to do in Life of Fred, then math takes a lot longer than usual. This week they will have a bridge on Thursday. We often read part of a chapter book for Social Studies - most recently one it was about Logical Fallacies, but we aren't reading one this week. However we don't typically do a webinar, and I counted that as our Social Studies today as the lesson was on archaeology and anthropology. Finally, I don't have Nadia and Ian do creative writing every single day. They weren't working on a writing project today. Usually Nadia is the first one day, Oliver is the second one done, and Ian is almost always the last one done with his school work. The boys don't use Zoom at all. Nadia uses it to talk to Rachel, for a weekly voice lesson, for a bi-weekly ASL lesson through the public library, and for two 2 hour long theatre rehearsals per week.

Paul carries Milo's crate up to Ian's bedroom each night. Nadia and Ian go to bed around 9:30 after Nadia takes Milo outside one last time. The kids each take him out 2-3 times per day. He used to spend a lot more time in his crate, but his behavior has been improving. Today the only time he was in his crate was when I was out repairing the trampoline. Nadia holds the guinea pigs when she's in her bedroom. Although technically one of the guinea pigs is Ian's, in reality Nadia is the only one who holds the guinea pigs. Because of Milo they have to stay in her bedroom. I usually go to bed shortly after Ian and Nadia go to bed, and that is when Paul usually eats his dinner.

So this is what life is currently like during a pandemic while homeschooling three kids in grades three, five, and seven. Our school year will be ending the end of April so our "summer" will be here before we know it! The main difference between this school year and the last seven school years has been that we've been at home far more - FAR fewer field trips, no Upward basketball, no ice skating lessons, no homeschool gym class, no choirs, no AWANA, no art class, etc. I can't believe that in the fall I will have TWO middle schoolers! I am still trying to decide whether I should hold Oliver back a grade or not. If I could go back in time, I would wait until he was six to start Kindergarten with him, but I can't go back in time. One decision I have never regretted, is our decision to homeschool the kids. I'm so, so glad that Paul had the idea to homeschool our kids and that I am able to be a full-time homeschooling mom. These precious years are just flying by far too fast!