Tornado

That is what it looks like hit my kitchen for too many straight mornings in a row.  Having kids in 3 different schools, plus fall sports and music, and an abundant fruit harvest is keeping our lives pretty hectic lately.  So even with the best laid plans for a nice dinner and smooth evening, there is just not enough time and energy in the day to get the housework done. But my life is filled with good things that really are much more fulfilling then a clean house.
Yesterday after elementary school parent mtg, music classes and a getting back from my 3rd back to school night of the month... I helped Dan start his campaign posters which we finished before 11 pm :)

Yesterday Alyssa "learned to read."  The concept of blending sounds sunk in and she was able to read "Zac the Rat" by sounding out all of the phonetic words on Starfall.com.  It was an exciting day for her and me.  I love the scripture in the Doctrine & Covenants "Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God;" (D&C 88:119).  I tend to be really hard on myself because I struggle to master the "house of order" part, but the "house of learning" part comes easy for me.   I enjoyed teaching Alyssa's preschool co-op so much last week.  I love reading books with my children and watching their interest grow.

Emily was home sick for one day earlier this week with a headache and fever but wasn't completely down and out.  So we did "home school" and she wrote a report about fish, did an art project with Alyssa and I, played multiplication games, learned a song on the piano and read American Girl books.  That gave me the "itch" to do homeschool again...maybe in January.  I'll let her decide.  Honestly, I know that choosing a homeschool experience means a lot of sacrifice and letting a lot of things be left undone.  That's why I think a half year plan is perfect for me.  I'm as crazy about education as Jared is about football, so even though we sometimes get over our heads in the things we love, I'm glad we can be an integral part of our kids lives.

Jacob is loving the extra 15 minutes to "prep" for school in the morning now that he's in Middle School.  I enjoy taking advantage of the time to work with him on KhanAcademy some days while his mind and energy our fresh for study and seeing his determination to keep up his grades even though it can be challenging.  I was alarmed by his online Science assignment score of 10/100.  He admitted that he just drew a stick figure for his picture of a scientist and included a few jokes in the 2 paragraph description of what a scientist is, so I had him redo it.  He resubmitted it, and then I found out from the teacher that it was a recording error - supposed to be 10/10, so he actually earned the full points the first time around.  At least he learned a few new principles about writing skills through the exercise :)

Becca is loving high school. She joined the Service Club, has an expanding group of good friends to hang out with at lunch and says the best part of the day is Seminary, because its so peaceful.  Somehow she's hidden under the radar for a few years, but she finally gave her first talk in Sacrament Mtg. last week on Reverence.  She related a story about her first trip to the temple.  She was so worried about little things (her zipper staying up, being in the right place, etc.) that it was not as peaceful or inspiring as she had hoped.  Her last trip was much better as she let go of her worries and just focussed on the people she was helping.  I appreciated her reminder about how sometimes our temporal worries interfere with our ability to feel the Spirit and remember the significance of the sacred. I was home sick with the flu but was able to hear and record it using a hearing aid device... one of the benefits of living so close to the church :)
 
And Joshua is just delightful.  I love hearing his spontaneous expressions of "Tanks Mom" or "Gimme a kiss."  His latest new addiction switched from The Garbage Truck Movie to Thomas the Train.  He likes to be clean.. so I haven't changed a messy diaper for almost a year because he always dumps in the potty and remembers to flush.  But he also insists on taking off ALL of his clothes every time he uses the bathroom, which means a lot of streaker accidents when someone comes to the door and I've been occupied. Today after he took care of business, he decided to "clean the toilet" with the toilet brush on his own making a big splashy mess all over the seat right when it was time to pick up Alyssa from preschool.  I'm glad to be a mother even though it can be physically and mentally exhausting.

Things I'm Loving:
Homemade Applesauce
Oatmeal with Homegrown Nectarines
Great School Teachers
Piano with the Kids
Watching my Boys Games
Family Names at the Temple