I wrote this about a day at our house last Tuesday.  It was fun to write and then re-read all that goes on in just one day!  Hope you enjoy reading it! 

I get up at 8:00 am with the baby. She has a cold and shots yesterday so she is cranky. She nurses quickly and dozes off. I tuck her back in and join the rest of the family, as all of the children are up. Curt has already seen Jack off to school and gotten breakfast for Ashleigh, Matthew, Rebekah and Bradley. They are playing upstairs and Curt is on the internet working. We are blessed that he can work from home sometimes. Since I am still getting up in the night with the 9 week old, he helps me in the mornings when he can be home.

While the kids are playing, I do my morning routine—assessing and addressing the needs of the day. I start a load of laundry and a load of dishes, make myself a cup of coffee and eat a slice of pumpkin bread, go over my lesson plans and write down the day’s assignments for Ashleigh and Matthew in their assignment books, gather some library books that need to go back, make sure I know what is for dinner (leftovers—yum!), and generally tidy the downstairs. I remind Curt to go over Math with Ashleigh and Matthew before he leaves for work.

Curt gets offline so that he can get ready and leave for work. We talk about an email he received from a co-worker and some of the issues he is facing at work. Since the baby is still asleep, I go ahead and check my email. I direct the kids to do their "R&R." At our house, R&R does not mean "Rest and Relaxation." It means "Room and Responsibilities." They must clean their room, get dressed, brush teeth, etc. I return an email from a friend, go over an email Ashleigh has received about Girl Scouts with her, and send an email to a friend asking a question. At this stage of my life, email just works better for me than the phone, as I can get online and handle things as I have time—day or night. Plus, I am not putting my family on hold whenever the phone rings.

Curt leaves for work and gets the kids started on Math before he leaves. I finish my email just as the baby wakes up. She is ready to nurse so I sit down in the den to feed her and turn on "Martha Stewart Living." She is making a cranberry pistachio biscotti. The kids all wander in as soon as they hear the TV on. This is why I try to never turn it on during the day! I allow them to watch the cooking demonstration since I consider it "home ec." As soon as it is over, I send them back to work on Math. I work on this diary of our day while the baby sits in her bouncy seat and smiles. What a cutie she is! Bradley and Rebekah watch a video Brad picked out on how to play football. I make up my bed now that the baby is out of it and switch over the laundry. The dishes are done so I also unload them while the baby is still happy in her bouncy seat.

Matthew comes downstairs to ask me a question about his Grammar. He has to substitute descriptive adjectives for general ones. We talk about painting pictures for the reader with our words. This is a perfect activity for the day since we are discussing descriptions in our writing lesson later. Matthew sits down at the kitchen table to write his adjectives while I am unloading dishes. He alternates writing with talking to the baby and trying to get her to smile.

After reading time, I tell the older two to do their state for that day based on what we just read in It Happened In America. Today they have to find and color CO on a US map, read the Fandex card for that state, and write a summary paragraph about what they learned about CO. While they do that, I tuck the baby, Brad and Bekah in for naptime. I come downstairs and review what the older two have done according to their assignment books, and pronounce them done for the day. They happily get shoes on and head outside to find our homeschooled neighbors and jump on the trampoline. I switch out and fold another load of laundry then sit down at the computer in hopes of getting some writing done.

After I finish the devotional and email it, I go get a shower and exercise. I work on my arms with weights and do sit ups. By the time I am finished, Brad and Bekah are up so I get them ready to go outside and join their siblings on the trampoline. I talk with the big kids about safety with the little ones on the trampoline and return to the house. By this time, the baby is awake and ready to eat again. Jack returns home from school and we talk for a bit about his day. He goes upstairs to clean his room and start his homework. I finish feeding the baby, change her and begin heating up an early dinner of leftover chili and cornbread. The girls have Praise Dance class tonight and will need to leave the house by 5:45.

Daddy arrives home unexpectedly. My hero! He changes clothes while we finish eating and clean up the kitchen. He will take the girls to dance so I don’t have to get out with the baby, as she hates the car and usually screams. I am glad to be spared of that this evening. Curt takes Brad and the girls with him so that he can spend some one on one time with Brad. They will return library books and go by the grocery store while the girls are dancing. Matthew is playing in his room and Jack is doing homework. The baby is asleep in her bouncy seat so I use the few moments of peace to do a final check of email and read a few of my favorite blogs. Matt comes downstairs to tell me about a book he has been reading and to ask me about some purchases he wants to make with his birthday money.  It is so peaceful in our little home!

Curt and the children come back home at 8:30. I nurse the baby and try to get her settled for the night while Curt gets the other kids tucked in. Jack continues to work on his homework downstairs. Curt and I talk for a bit about his day at work while I hold the baby, who is fussy and tired, but fighting sleep. I lay her down and look through some homeschool catalogs before turning in myself. It has been a good day for us, all in all. I feel good about what we accomplished and look forward to another day of homeschooling tomorrow!