We got maybe an inch of snow the other day.  Here are the kids having a blast:

Today, N, Princess C, and Baby B were playing so nicely with the blocks.  Baby B was in the "tubby bath". 

D was on the couch reading an Arthur book.  My mom said it was a baby book, but I said he did learn something from it.  He learned that the White House has a pool, library, and some other things I forgot.  He also learned that George Washington was the only president that didn't live there. 

Yesterday and today we skipped D's math lesson.  Math is the biggest problem.  I am going to look into other programs for next year.  We are in Saxon 5/4 right now.  He has been doing his time tests daily, yet with no improvement.  So we worked on memorizing them better.  He wrote out the facts and went through his fact cards and he has already improved dramatically.  He did a time test today and instead of doing it for 5 minutes, I told him he was going to do it until he finished.  I was sick of him only getting about half way through, and he was skipping around only doing the ones he knew, so he ended up doing the same facts each time!  He did the whole page in just over 5 min, instead of the usual 10 or so.  He also had incentive because N was doing his fact sheet at the same time and they were racing. 

I have told myself that I am just going to have to sit down at the table with D.  As much as I want him to work alone, it's just not working now.  Even when I am right by his side I have to tell him 50 times, "Get back to work.  Pay attention.  Stop bossing them around.  Worry about yourself."  And the list goes on.  Today I managed to do both boys math while Baby B was sleeping and Princess C did puzzles.  But boy was it stressful.  Trying to keep up with new puzzles and keeping them focused and making sure N didn't have a melt down (he gets angry quickly).  Phew... after that, I was a little testy. 

Back to switching math... Is it really Saxon that is the problem?  I have a tendency to chuck things if they aren't working.  Can I make it work for us?  I change my mind so quickly on how I want to run my homeschool.  I can't seem to find something that works for us all.  I guess I need to suck it up and do what works for my kids whether I like it or not.  Like science experiments and art.  I don't like prep work or messes.  I am not organized and I get overwhelmed easily.  Ok, now that I have figured out, all I need to do is figure out.... well... what works.  hmmm.... where do I start....